On Purpose: Poems [Hardcover]

Nick Laird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2008

The much-anticipated new volume from award-winning poet Nick Laird, whose "superb lines" won praise from the New York Times Book Review.

On Purpose examines the often brutal arena of human relations. Informed by both wit and a melancholic undercurrent, the book thoughtfully provokes concepts of happiness and sadness, of warring and reparation. The volume concludes with an affecting sequence about a marriage, inspired by that most influential of military treatises, The Art of War.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Compact, careful, thoughtful and even wary, the second book of verse from Laird (who grew up in Northern Ireland and lives in London) gives the U.S. a fine representative of what younger mainstream British poets are doing right now. Like his peers, Laird writes shapely stanzas organized by description and sometimes by half-rhymes; he owes much to Glyn Maxwell or Paul Muldoon, though less so compared to his debut To a Fault. Here the tone is sadder, more civil, more often weighted by historical subjects. Also a novelist, Laird does best with historical personae: medieval actors in a morality play, for example, or soldiers who liberate a concentration camp, describing mass murder's aftermath with uncanny reserve. Even at his most personal, Laird feels the shadow of current events: he concludes with a set of short poems called The Art of War, in which the blisses and troubles of two adults remind him all too much of the public world. In Terrain, the snow on TV reminds him of the cloud of electronic data through which the government (like a malevolent boyfriend) may watch us as we sleep: you'd been watching a property show and had dozed,/ and now the screen was frantic, driving home through snow, alone. (Oct.)
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Review

The dense purity of the language recalls the unflinching confessional mode of Robert Lowell and the tender Hughes of Birthday Letters. (Time Out London )

One of the most memorable meditations on love and marriage in contemporary literature. These 65 pages will knock you flat. (Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (October 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393067769
• ISBN-13: 978-0393067767
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,468,932 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 A great choice for poetry-enthusiasts, December 12, 2008

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Purpose: Poems (Hardcover)

A man with many published works under both novels and poetry, "On Purpose" is the work of someone who has seen much in the world, originating in Northern Ireland, now living in Rome. Tackling a wide arrange of emotions, Laird seeks to make readers laugh as well as cry. "On Purpose" is the work of much life experience, a great choice for poetry-enthusiasts. "Use of Spies": Upright and sleepless,/having watched three bad movies,/I am flying across the ocean to see you.//I am a warrior and nothing will stop me,/although in the event both passport control/and a stoned cabbie from Haiti will give it a go,/but I meant to mention something else.