Rapture [Paperback]

Carol Ann Duffy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

The effortless virtuosity, drama, and humanity of Carol Ann Duffy's verse have made her much-admired among contemporary poets. Her seventh collection, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize, is a book-length love-poem, and a moving act of personal testimony—but what sets these poems apart from other treatments of the subject is Duffy's refusal to simplify the contradictions of love, and read its transformations—infatuation, longing, passion, commitment, rancor, separation, and grief—as either redemptive or destructive. This is a map of real love, in all its churning complexity, simultaneously direct and subtle, showing us that a song can be made of even the most painful episodes in our lives. With poems that will find deep resonance in the experience of most readers, it is a collection that can and does speak for us all.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carol Ann Duffy's poetry has received many awards, including the Whitbread, T.S. Eliot, Forward, and E. M. Forster prizes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 62 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan UK (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330433911
• ISBN-13: 978-0330433914
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Passion and music, November 2, 2005

By 

Nina Ruby - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rapture (Hardcover)

I went to the launch of this book recently, which was a performance by both the author Carol Ann Duffy and Eliana Tomkins, the composer and singer. It was one of the most exciting literary events I have ever attended. The words spoken by Duffy were powerful and beautiful, but the added pleasure of hearing the poems so beautifully captured in song was a moving experience I would like to repeat, at which the audience wept, amazed. The songs are fabulous; easy to listen to but also full of gorgeous surprises; Ms Tomkins' voice is a creamy, erotic wonder. Do not miss the book nor the cd, which is on the JAZZ7 label.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous poetry, May 1, 2009

By 

Joyce Akesson "www.joyceakesson.com" (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rapture (Paperback)

Carol Ann Duffy's book is the winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize. It is a collection of love poems about the different complex manifestations of love, such as the feelings of infatuation, longing, passion, commitment, rancor, separation and grief. This fabulous collection speaks for everyone.

Joyce Akesson, author of Love's Thrilling Dimensions

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grief in Reverse, May 24, 2010

By 

Katherine Cameron (Olympia WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rapture (Paperback)

A modern Shakespeare, awakening our senses to the way love dissolves boundaries and occupies everything from rivers to clouds to stars to gardens and earth and leaves and graves. If you love the way a poem tumbles off your tongue, read this book. Every line is quotable, memorable. If you enjoy love and grief as a topic (and they most certainly go together), read this book.