'Letters of a Poet Dying, the Selected Correspondence of Frank Stanford,' Now Available From U of A Press

The University of Arkansas Press has published Letters of a Poet Dying, the first collection of correspondence by the acclaimed poet Frank Stanford (1948-1978).

Born in southeastern Mississippi, Stanford spent most of his brief life in northern Arkansas, where he studied, fell in love, founded a publishing company, and wrote prolifically before taking his own life at age twenty-nine. Written during his twenties, these strikingly original letters, postcards, and book inscriptions were addressed to dozens of poets, editors, friends, lovers, and family members. Together, they offer an intimate look at Stanford's life and his complicated, often tumultuous creative process.

Editor A.P. Walton's extensive scholarship reveals a poet intent on shaping his body of work as he approached a death he had long anticipated. "I have never feared Death," Stanford wrote in 1972. "Death was always there, a pale master holding the reins of my horse."

Yet the correspondence is about far more than mortality. The letters reveal Stanford's hunger for life and contain unexpected moments of humor, tenderness, and beauty. They provide moving glimpses into his creativity, artistic beliefs, friendships, romances, and fears.

That this correspondence survived for nearly five decades after Stanford's death is remarkable. The letters illuminate the mind of one of the twentieth century's most gifted and prolific poets while standing on their own as significant works of literature.

Letters of a Poet Dying is the third University of Arkansas Press book published within the past year to explore Stanford's life and work. James McWilliams's The Life and Poetry of Frank Stanford, published in summer 2025, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. In March 2026, the U of A Press published the authoritative third edition of Stanford's 15,283-line epic, The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I Love You, edited by McWilliams and Walton. Together, the three books offer the most comprehensive examination yet of Stanford's life, poetry, and literary legacy. In 1991, the Press posthumously published The Light the Dead See, a collection of poems selected from Stanford's first nine volumes alongside six previously unpublished poems.

McWilliams and Walton will visit Northwest Arkansas in September for three events celebrating these books and Stanford's enduring influence. Though still largely unknown beyond poetry circles, Stanford has inspired a devoted following and occupies a singular place in the literary tradition of the American South.

• Sept. 25: McWilliams and Walton in conversation with Cheryl Campbell, a former love of Stanford's, at the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library.
• Sept. 26: McWilliams and Walton at the Fayetteville Public Library's NWA Book Fest.
• Sept. 27: McWilliams and Walton in conversation with moderator Zach Harrod in the Ziegler Room at the Fayetteville Public Library.