In the mid- to late-1940s, both during and after World War II, a young American poet burst on the Anglo-American literary scene. It seemed that a new star was born.And then, a few short years later, he disappeared from view. And was forgotten.Until now. The publication of Dunstan Thompson: On the Life and Work of a Lost American Master is a marvelous act of recovery and restoration. It contains essays, memoirs of Thompson, and 16 of his poems.Why should Commonweal readers be interested? Because Thompson's disappearance coincided with his return to the Catholic faith of his childhood. His conversion involved both a rejection of the gay lifestyle he was leading and a withdrawal from the world of literary ambition.That fact alone now makes him a controversial, but also deeply mysterious, figure.Full disclosure: I am currently editing a Selected Poems of Dunstan Thompson, which will contain work from the entire range of his life. Likely publication date: 2012.