Or to Begin Again (Poets, Penguin) [Paperback]

Ann Lauterbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009 | Series: Poets, Penguin

Ann Lauterbach's ninth work of poetry, Or to Begin Again, takes its name from a sixteen-poem elegy that resists its own end, as it meditates on the nearness of specific attachment and loss against the mute background of historical forces in times of war. In the center of the book is a twelve-part narrative, "Alice in the Wasteland,"inspired by Lewis Carroll's great character and T.S. Eliot's 1922 modernist poem. Alice is accosted by an invisible Voice as she wanders and wonders about the nature of language in relation to perception. In this volume, Lauterbach again shows the range of her formal inventiveness, demonstrating the visual dynamics of the page in tandem with the powerful musical cadences and imagery of a contemporary master.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This ninth collection of poetry finds Lauterbach doing what she does best, anchoring her roving eye and associative thinking among the banalities and raptures of a mature urban life. If her banalities, often comically deployed, are sometimes merely that (There are new blinds on the windows across the way), her raptures, often in the form of physical description, can truly exhilarate and sound like no one else's: as the sun sets, tiny distinctions appear among luminosities, sky, river, car, white fence, yellow lights of passing cars, pale stone of the graves. Less rhapsodic than usual, Lauterbach may apologize for not making meaning, but when she does make it, she reveals a gift for impeccably phrased insight: one falls in love/ with the condition of hope// and falls out of love with its/ cruel replacement, hope.... Highlights of the book include its title poem, a breathtaking, understated 14-part elegy, and the centerpiece, Alice in the Wasteland, a playful semiotic dialogue that finds Carroll's Alice interrogated by an impersonal Voice as she wanders through Eliot's labyrinth of dysfunction. Intelligent but no less deeply feeling, this collection confirms Lauterbach's position as one of the most highly principled and tirelessly innovative poets writing today. (Apr.)
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About the Author

Ann Lauterbach is Ruth and David Schwab III Professor of Language and Literature at Bard College. Her work has received fellowship support from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine C. MacArthur Foundation. She has published six collections of poetry, including If in Time: Selected Poems 1975-2000.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143115200
• ISBN-13: 978-0143115205
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should Have Won National Book Award, February 10, 2010

By 

HyacinthGirl "H.G." - See all my reviews

This review is from: Or to Begin Again (Poets, Penguin) (Paperback)

Absolutely engaging poetics; the benefits of confusion. Read ann lauterbach if you're sick of transparency and want surprise, depth, and a way to navigate the "zones of retrieval."

The alice in wonderland middle section is so lively and full of specific questions and answers. 'chaos is the color of a pair of socks.' 'but there is only one chaos, alice answers.'

The title poem warrants rereading several times. This is a book i can already sense as having a big influence on me.

I've read her early works, this book surpasses them all. Without a doubt. She's found her voice and the canon will love it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And a better, brilliant mash-up ..., July 28, 2009

By 

JR - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Or to Begin Again (Poets, Penguin) (Paperback)

Lauterbach's piercing intelligence--full of dry wit, deft insight and patience in calamity--is exactly why we read books.