I can wholeheartedly vouch for Cathy's reassurance that what Alan meant to Tim is abundantly clear in this book--as, indeed, in Tim's other books and television interviews--despite the article's coyness in that regard.
In fact, I couldn't help wondering what Alan might have said about certain of Tim's last poems that, in my view, seemed like attempts to rewrite some very public history, in terms of their separation near the end of Alan's life. But scholars and friends can--and undoubtedly will--discuss Alan's firsthand testimony about that elsewhere. The point of this book is simply to present a master poet's final artistic outpourings, with minimal editorial intrusion. And I think Cathy did an admirable job of that, while also briefly doing justice to the context in her introduction.
Happy to have helped in a small way, and happy to see this project coming to press. And, oh, that lovely Charlie Beck cover does not disappoint!
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