James K. Baxter was a great twentieth-century poet. He once declared, 'In contradiction . . . I was born.' His Complete Prose chronicles his life and times, his preferences and prejudices, his crises and turbulent occasions. Its contents are remarkable for their range, coherence and passionate integrity. This four-volume set contains over a million words, in the form of reviews, essays, lectures, journal articles, drafts and rough notes, meditations, fables, stories, a short novel, interviews, letters to the editor, correspondence with friends and critics, and diary entries, covering Baxter's entire career. Edited with scrupulous care by John Weir, Baxter's friend and the foremost scholar of his work, it also includes an extensive introduction, notes and references, a glossary of Maori words and phrases, biographies of key people, an index and a bibliography.