The Armillary Sphere: Poems [Paperback]

Ann Hudson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2006

Taking the warp of dream, sometimes nightmare, and weaving it with the ordinary world, the poems of The Armillary Sphere, Ann Hudson’s award-winning debut collection, do not simplify the mystery but deepen it. Just as the interlocking rings of the armillary sphere of the title represent the great circles of the heavens, so do the poems herein demonstrate out of the beautiful, the extraordinary, and the cast off, a fresh scaffolding, a new way to see out from the center of our selves, a new measure of our relationship to the things of this world and the next. Chosen from hundreds of manuscripts as this year’s winner of the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize, Ann Hudson’s The Armillary Sphere possesses, in the words of final judge Mary Kinzie, “. . . a brightness of spirit and quickness of thought that are conveyed with extraordinary care as she frames moments of experience. Her style is unobtrusive—no fireworks of phrasing obscure the thing felt and seen. So simple a device as taking an intransitive verb transitively can shed strong light on the moment: “A fine sheen /of sweat glistens the cocktail glasses,”—and Hudson studies emotions with a brave restraint that resists cliché, while deftly joining together intuitions that bring contradictory or opposing charge. . . . Both circular and digressive, Hudson’s portrayal of beings of all ages poised on their varying thresholds brings a novelist’s sense of details unfolding into their future under the control of a fine poet’s pure and condensed language of likeness.”

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ann Hudson grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her poems have appeared in many literary journals, including Crab Orchard Review, Iris, North American Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Seattle Review. She lives in Chicago. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Ohio University Press; 1 edition (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821417142
• ISBN-13: 978-0821417140
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,912,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry IS still alive!, December 3, 2006

By 

Linda Burns (Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Armillary Sphere: Poems (Hardcover)

Ann Hudson's poems reveal the beauty, irony, and pain of small everyday moments. Moments that I barrel by every day, taking no notice, Hudson picks up, burnishes and uncovers their essence helping me to see them in all their humanity. Buy this book--it's a wonderful testament to the power and relevance of poetry today.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars crisp, wistful, focused, and personal, March 7, 2007

By 

Professor of American Lit (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armillary Sphere: Poems (Hardcover)

This is a haunting collection that manages to be both spare and detailed at the same time. It's amazing that someone can conjure such images and such complex emotional landscapes in so few words. Poetry at its best, and highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars Proof that great poetry is still being published, October 23, 2008

By 

Alexia Pittas Giroux "ILex" (Savannah, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Armillary Sphere: Poems (Paperback)

Ann Hudson is the poet we all wish we could be. Her honest, raw insight into the small but powerful moments of life make modern poetry worth reading.