Plainwater: Essays and Poetry (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite her fastidious, ornately post-modern style, Carson finds her subject matter in classicism. The fruits of this unique, difficult combination are strikingly displayed in this selection of her published work. Seemingly composed of equal parts enigma, experiment and exegesis, Carson's writings incorporate a dizzying spectrum of forms?prose poem, mock interview, travel journal, academic essay. "Mimnermos: The Brainsex Paintings" explores what are perhaps figmentary fragments of the ancient Greek poet's work, which divulges "a kind of hunger for the motions of the self that we are mining still." The blurb-like, often humorous paragraphs and prose poems of "Short Talks" (which are "on" subjects as varied as chromoluminism and Sylvia Plath) and "The Life of Towns" (with stops in "Apostle Town" and "Town of Greta Garbo") afford the pleasure of a whimsical crossword puzzle. But Carson achieves a surreal, perplexing brilliance in "Canicula di Anna," a 53-section poem partially set in the paintings of the 16th-century artist Perugino. The final selection, "The Anthropology of Water," takes an abruptly confessional turn, though one measured (as the title suggests) by the poet's near-scientific intellectualism that, as in all these writings, gives her work a dazzling lucidity.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Carson's poetry and prose defy categorization as much as they blur the boundaries of their own forms. In fact, nearly formless, Carson's writing resists convention through word variation and substitution, stretching language to create new meanings, formulas, and outcomes. For example, in "The Life of Towns," town becomes a representative letter like a in the formula: if ab and bc, then ac. In other words, townviewpointself and self includes all the various vantage points and different ways of expressing vision. Carson, a professor of ancient Greek and Latin, incorporates classical languages and a mythological sensibility in surprising ways throughout her work. The strongest and most engaging section is "Short Talks" (from her book by that title), which was excerpted in the 1992 Best American Essays but could have just as easily appeared in a poetry anthology. The pieces have the appeal of haiku and the experimental quality of language poetry by Scalapino and Lauterbach. These "talks" gracefully unite the vivid metaphor and rhythm of poetry with the contemplative and digressive discourse of essay. Carson knows the rules of language and how to break them. This is stimulating, rare, and challenging writing, fabulous food for thought--for the adventurous reader. Janet St. John --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (March 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375708421
• ISBN-13: 978-0375708428
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #274,153 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my favorite book ever, September 29, 2002

By	"bicycleaesthetic" (portland, or) - See all my reviews

the last section of this book-- the anthropology of water-- is my favorite piece of writing i have ever read. it's amazing. you can read it 50 times and still get something new out of it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Praise, August 14, 2002

By	Shigefumi Yamaura (Tokyo & United States) - See all my reviews

She's probably the most original writer at work in the English language at the moment. Challenging, yet rewarding; original, yet rooted firmly is an established tradition. Her work makes the genre--whatever it is--sing its own praises. There's no need for a review such as this.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Carson's Best, March 2, 2002

By	Seymour Winhold (Cambridge and London) - See all my reviews

This is Carson's best work, a meditation on loss and longing that outweighs her more popular works. Here in this early work you can find the foundations of form that inspired the young and daring prose stylists Ben Marcus, John D'Agata and David Wallace. Worth it on virtually every page.