E.P. Dutton & Co., 253 pages, hardcover, $10.99

Nothing More to Declare is a collection of well-written essays by a thoughtful man. This book is very topical and timely…if you’d read it in the 1960s. Holmes writes essays on sexuality from a very “1960s” point of view, as well as an interesting piece on Lee Harvey Oswald and JFK that, as you read it, makes the assassination seem as though it just happened.

There are some insights into his relationship with fellow writers associated with the Beats, and a couple pieces on the ’40s and ’50s centered largely on his reflections and remembrances. I kind of skimmed these, though I did find a few lines in both that I enjoyed.

It’s a wistful collection, written by Holmes as he approached his 4oth birthday, as I myself am doing. He lived for another 20 years after this was published but, unfortunately (at least to my knowledge), did not publish another similar collection. It would have been interesting to see his POV on various subjects in the 1980s, but I suspect death sneaked up and caught him by surprise.