For "The Death of Picasso, " Guy Davenport has gathered 27 essays and stories from throughout his career. The whole stands as his choice of the pieces he would have us read today if we are curious about what he's been up to all this time. The result is an exciting and invigorating selection, a testament to one of the prose masters at work today. As the "Louisville Courier-Journal noted, " "Guy Davenport has few peers. Who can match his broad erudition, his mastery of forms--poetry, short fiction, essay, translation--and his wizardry with language?"