Notable books of 1980 -- a checklist; POETRY

A PART OF SPEECH, by Joseph Brodsky. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $12 .95. In this second collection in English of his work, Brodsky, a Soviet poet-in-exile of dramatic yet delicate vision, makes his own choice of translations, reworking some to bring them closer to his Russian originals.

SCRIPTS FOR THE PAGEANT, by James Merrill. New York: Atheneum. $8.95 (paperback). In this conclusion to an epic trilogy, Pulitzer-winner Merrill explores the nature of creation via a Danteesque trip through a spirit world that encompasses the whole of time and the universe, demonstrating in the process the true conjuring power of poetry.