Poetry. Fiction. Drama. (DVD not included in paperback edition.) A HELEN ADAM READER, edited, with Notes and an Introduction by Kristen Prevallet, is a voluminous collection of Adam's life and work. Prevallet's introduction offers an in-depth biography of Adam, chronicling her work in relation to political and personal events. Movements in the late fifties and early sixties, Black Mountain, the San Francisco Renaissance, the Beat Generation, and the New York School, both influenced and were influenced by Adam's work. She did not adhere closely to one particular form; she invented her own style, experimenting with ballads for which she is most remembered. Adam is increasingly important to poetry's history and evolution. "This magnanimous scholarly compendium of the work and life of Helen Adam is a recovery and reclamation project of major importance, giving weight and measure to an iconic and unique figure."—Anne Waldman