James Laughlin (1914—1997), the founder and publisher of New Directions, was also a poet of elegance and distinction. At his death, he left unfinished his long autobiographical poem, Byways, which was subsequently edited by Peter Glassgold, his designated poetry editor. It is no exaggeration to say that New Directions changed the way Americans read and write serious literature. Yet the man who published some of the greatest writers of the twentieth century remained resistant to the memoiristic impulse, until in the end he found his autobiographical voice not in conventional narrative but in verse. Though unfinished, the book stands as a testimony to a long, influential, and productive life. Byways, edited and annotated, with an Introduction, by Peter Glassgold, also includes a Preface by Guy Davenport, along with photos and illustration

New Directions. 2005.