Denise Levertov is surely one of the most impressive of the younger poets writing in English today. Her earlier books (Here and Now, Overland to the Islands, With Eyes at the Back of Our Heads) were notable on several counts: technically, for her fine ear and her skill with free but controlled forms; in their substance, for the intensity––and clarity––of her very personal vision. These qualities persist in The Jacob’s Ladder, and to them has been added––particularly in the powerful sequence on themes suggested by the Eichmann trial––a larger social concern, a more penetrating identification with the great problems of humanity. In addition, thirteen poems from the now out-of-print earlier volume Overland to the Islands are included by courtesy of Jonathan Williams, the original publisher.