SOURCE: "Kenneth Rexroth: Poet, Radical Man of Letter of the West," in Northwest Review, Vol. 30, No. 2, 1992, pp. 142-55.

In the following essay, Gutierrez discusses Rexroth's literary career and critical reputation. According to Gutierrez, Rexroth "remains probably the most underrated poet in 20th-century American literature."

     They say I do not realize
     The Values of my own time.
     What preposterous nonsense!
     Ten years of war, mountains of dead,
     One hundred million armed men
     And billions of paper dollars
     Spent to disembowel mankind.
     If they go on forever,
     They will have realized less
     Value than I can in one hour
     Sitting at my typewriter.
                         Kenneth Rexroth, "Me Again"

I

The single most intriguing fact about Kenneth Rexroth is that this significant American literary figure remains probably the most underrated poet in 20th-century American literature.

There are a number of reasons for this unenviable status, and probably more to be discovered. Geographical...