Mean Time [Paperback]

Carol Ann Duffy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 1993

Winner of the Forward Poetry Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Award 1993

In her fourth collection, Mean Time', Carol Ann Duffy dramatizes scenes from childhood, adolescence and adulthood, finding moments of grace or consolation in memory, love and language amid the complexities of life. These are powerful poems of loss, betrayal and desire.

Carol Ann Duffy was born in Glasgow in 1955. Her awards include first prize in the 1983 National Poetry Competition; three Scottish Arts Council Book Awards; Eric Gregory, Somerset Maugham and Dylan Thomas Awards in Britain and a 1995 Lannan Literary Award in the USA. In 1993 she received the Forward Poetry Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Award for her acclaimed fourth collection Mean Time'. On May 1, 2009 she was named the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carol Ann Duffy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1955. She has won all major UK poetry prizes as well as a Lannan Literary Award in the USA.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 56 pages
• Publisher: Anvil Press Poetry (May 27, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0856462470
• ISBN-13: 978-0856462474
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,359,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars duffy defended, March 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mean Time (Paperback)

I won't bore anyone with my interpretations of the work, a little patience and a little insight will yield your own conclusions. But i do recommend investing that time, this collection is one of the finest i have encountered and i return to it as i might to an old friend. Other reviewers have criticised it for being repetetive, but where one deals with the major themes that poets tend to grapple with, such 'repetition' is apt to happen. It is the refreshing way in which she deals with universal themes that marks this book out as one which will endure. Duffy is one of the brightest contemporary talents, do not be put off by those who were forced to study the work and somehow bypassed its beauty, this is a deeply moving collection, with a fair bite of sharp humour - enjoy.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mean time, September 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mean Time (Paperback)

Mean Time is a thoroughly original and refreshing work. Duffy tackles a range of subjects and emotions with complexity and skill. Particularly interesting is the confidence with which Duffy tackles 'taboo' subjects. She presents sensitive issues and is unafraid to use unconventional language. She does not aim to offend but to provoke thought and allow the reader to shape an intelligent picture of modern day life. Cliche Kid, for example, is a humorous though touching study of homosexuality whilst Before You Were Mine serves as a poignant love poem from Duffy to her mother. In Valentine Duffy urges readers to be honest about relationships as she examines an onion, a refreshing image of love that is highly typical of the Duffy style. It is in poems like Moments of Grace that Duffy comes into her own as she depicts those occasional moments of spirituality that warm and enrich an otherwise bleak and valueless society.Duffy is clearly one of the most relevant poets of the day.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Study of 'Mean Time', March 29, 2001

By 

Katie (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mean Time (Paperback)

Let me begin by saying that Carol Ann Duffy is a poetic genius. She stands alone in the world of poetry with an extreme confidence to tackle taboo subjects such as sex and disease etc. which other poets wouldn't dare speak about. For example; in `Litany' Duffy speaks of subjects that others don't tend to speak of in standard, conventional poems.

"where no one has cancer, or sex, or debts, and certainly not leukaemia , which no one could spell"

Some people may assume that Duffy's work represents the pessimistic views of today's society, but in my opinion, the way you interpret the poets is a personal touch to the understanding of the poems. Duffy has an extreme talent for stimulating the imagination and creativity of her audiences.

`Mean Time' reflects life experiences by Duffy herself which she interpreted and condensed into an anthology of profound poems. My personal favourite from `Mean Time' is `Welltread' as it represents schools in a stereotypical way. For example; in every school there is always one teacher that purposely attempts to intimidate his students, the one person everyone is scared of. This poem also portrays how small situations, when you are young can stay with you for the rest of your life.

"Still smoudlering"

This anthology is for you if you enjoy reading poems that are profound and have meaning. Carol Ann Duffy does not specialise in romanticism like many other conventional poets, but down-to-earth, realistic situations, which everyone can relate to in some shape or form.

I honestly enjoyed analysing this anthology of poems for my English literature A-level, but if I weren't specialising in English, I would've read `Mean Time' for pleasure anyway.

This anthology truly reflects Carol Ann Duffy's best work, and is well worth the time and money.