Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968-1998 [Paperback]

Linda Pastan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

"Linda Pastan is one of America's truly fine poets working at the height of her powers." — Michael Collier, Baltimore Sun

This volume brings together new work along with poems gathered from nine previous collections. When Linda Pastan's first book was published in 1971, the Jerusalem Post wrote, she "in large measure fulfilled Emerson's dream — the revelation of ‘the miraculous in the common.' " Since then Pastan has continued to explore the complexities, passion, and dangers under the surfaces of ordinary life. "Some critics point to Emily Dickinson when citing Pastan's lapidary style and metaphysical wit, a comparison that does justice to either poet when Pastan is at her best." — Gettysburg Review  "Pastan's unfailing mastery of her medium holds the darkness firmly in check." — New York Times Book Review National Book Award finalist  Linda Pastan was Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1991 to 1993.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Thirty years worth of poems that celebrate the "mystery of the ordinary," this collection conveys, more than anything, the poignancy of time passing. Pastan, who was born in 1932, the same year as Sylvia Plath, presented readers with a different kind of female voice when her first book appeared in 1971?neither omnipotent nor disembodied but that of a real woman in a physical world: "She's crowning, someone says,/ but there is no one royal here,/ just me, quite barefoot,/ greeting my barefoot child." The early poems use a short line and eschew rhyme, while some of the later poems look to formal verse to confront the pressing concerns of mortality. When Pastan falters, she ends a poem too cleanly, unable to turn a prime moment for the writer into significance for the reader. But when she is on?as in the luminous title poem of this collection?she is a poet of small gestures and great vision. Author of nine previous books of poetry (e.g., An Early Afterlife, LJ 12/94) and former poet laureate of Maryland, Pastan has enjoyed a steady popular appeal. This volume may bring her work the critical attention it deserves.?Ellen Kaufman, Dewey Ballantine Law Lib., New York
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

There is no fuss in Pastan's neat, trustworthy, and cardinal poems, no elusive imagery or eye-crossing syntax. This substantial volume draws on nine previous collections and presents an array of powerful new poems, and it is a deep pleasure to trace the path of Pastan's poetic exploration into the nature of a life lived determinedly within the family circle. Pastan works the puzzles of childhood, marriage, and motherhood with great skill and concentration, presenting domesticity as both a temple and a prison, and as much as she writes of love and duty, there is an undercurrent of protest, of resistance against tradition. Eve is her alter ego, and she writes about her regularly, imagining that she found Eden too confining, too orderly. As for herself, she writes in "Meditation by the Stove," "I have banked the fires of my body," then reminds us that "what we want/ is never simple." Neither are these self-contained poems: lift them to your ear like a shell and hear them roar. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition. pb first edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039331927X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393319279
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carnival Evening a feast for the eyes and ears, July 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968-1998 (Paperback)

Linda Pastan, for several years Maryland's poet laureate, has crowned several decades of her subtle, courageous writing with this compendium of beautiful poems. Pastan never shrinks from the deepest feelings, from her own shadows and demons, instead converts them into beauty and invites her readers to know her deeply. Her sense of meter, line breaks, word music are a model for young poets, and her subject matter, the corners of the heart, an inspiration and comfort to those of us who live with razor sharp sensitivity. She is a beacon still shining through the fog in an age where violence, bravado, and novelty dull the senses and lead us to shrink from ourselves. With her poetry, we return home to the delicate nuances of living, dreaming, loving, andmost of all, telling the truth.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pastan, December 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems : 1968-1998 (Hardcover)

Whether mapping out her life in the voice of Eve or contemplating maternity, aging, and the writing life, Pastan rarely slips out of form. Her careful and lucid attention to detail makes this book a valuable addition to any poetry library. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 30 years of solid poems, May 21, 2003

By 

[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968-1998 (Paperback)

Linda Pastan's book covers thirty years of her poetry, from 1968-1998, and it is a book worthy of having. Somone told me that Pastan was by no means a _great_ poet, but that she was a very good poet. There's no more accurate description of her work. She's not going to be another Frost or Plath or Dickinson or Bishop, but her work is enjoyable and quite well-written. There is a preponderance of religous and motherhood contained within, so be prepared. But that doesn't detract from the book. She handles her subjects well and her language well. I'll say it again, it is a good book and one I think you'll enjoy.