Customer Reviews

Until Before After

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I was fortunate to see the author read from this book in April 2011. He started the reading by playing on a tin flute (he's also a musician and an expert on Irish music), which was a lovely way to ease into his devastating poems.

Ciarán Carson is a poet from Belfast who I think is chiefly famous for writing about the troubles there, but my favourite poetry of his is this stuff about his wife's hospital stay for a serious illness. The book is tremendous - very minimal, stripped down - stripped raw, really. It's not always easy to read, but so worth it.

This book is of a familiar topic to Carson, dealing with illness and loss but is in an entirely different style than anything he has written before. Whereas Carson's longer poetic lines and taciturn imagery once sat well besides Derek Mahon (both are Irish poets) this book may belong more in the American canon if style is the only consideration. This collection is conceptual in its presentation yet heartfelt in intention. Contemporary art and writing often disengage the participants (i.e. the viewer or the reader) by being overly vague or excruciatingly intellectual. Until Before After approaches the latter and those used to the more accessible English poets such as Yeats, Larkin or even Carson's earlier work may have trouble with these poems. However, those who do engage these will eventually find an open heart, a well timed wit and a deep sense of self. This book may not be the ideal read for those looking for more of the same from Carson, rather it shows true growth. Carson's experience as an award winning poet and translator are evidenced both stylistically and autobiographically in this collection.

This book focuses on prepositions of time and is broken into sections based on the three in the title. It resonates with The Sore Throat and Other Poems [below] by the American author Aaron Kunin which also has roots in translation as well as a similar-feeling, author-imposed limited vocabulary.

The Sore Throat & Other Poems