false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172212093m/150252.jpg 150252 5 Though Anne Carson's poetry is shot through with the myths and images of the classical world, that ancient light helps illuminate contemporary situations and concerns. A classics professor at McGill University in Montreal, Carson has arrived in a surprisingly short time as one of Canada's finest poets. More than that, her exquisite, intelligent, highly original poems put her in the first rank of world poets. In <I>The Beauty of the Husband</I>, subtitled <i>A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos</i>, she explores her ambiguous feelings toward a difficult but intriguing marriage. Each poem begins with a short quote from John Keats, whose idea that "beauty is truth" is the thread holding together a relationship with a man addicted to lying and philandering. A scoundrel ("He lied when it wasn't even convenient"), the husband is redeemed and forgiven almost everything because of beauty.<p> For Carson, the truth is "layered and elusive," hidden under the conversations of a thousand nights, nights when the lights were still on at dawn. There is a daring quality to Carson's work, a startling vision and perspective that will not be judged by normal standards. By penetrating to the core of a relationship, Carson stands convention on its head and finds "the light that pain brings." These poems bespeak the brilliance and shade of shape-shifting truth and conjure a freshness of language that shimmers. Somehow it seems fitting that the book itself, as an object to hold and behold, is also beautiful. <I>--Mark Frutkin</I> 145020 2001 The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos total:562|5:279|4:178|3:89|2:15|1:1| 562 2405 801 66 0 2 false false Mon Jun 18 08:59:49 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 14:22:00 -0700 2007

Poets (be generous) prefer to conceal the truth beneath strata of irony
because this is the look of truth: layered and elusive.
Was he a poet? Yes and no.

His le...more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 12:25:57 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 11:05:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 26 09:01:04 -0800 2007 Sun Jan 06 20:09:33 -0800 2008
This is the first Anne Carson book I've read and I doubt will be the last. I anticipate reading this on...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Feb 20 19:56:48 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 21 11:51:54 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 26 11:42:06 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 26 11:47:21 -0800 2007
I re-read it during my recent poetry streak, and this time I found it absolutely ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sun Sep 16 19:46:00 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 16 19:49:00 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Oct 02 20:14:53 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 23:20:41 -0700 2008 5 1 false false Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 08 19:00:39 -0800 2008 Thu Jul 17 13:41:31 -0700 2008 5 1 false false Wed Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Jul 15 12:21:11 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 15 19:40:59 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Fri Nov 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 20:11:40 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 20:20:25 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sat Mar 10 20:11:15 -0800 2007 Sat Mar 10 20:11:52 -0800 2007 5 0 false false Sat Jul 11 00:05:32 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 00:09:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 15:00:39 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 15:11:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 14:01:44 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 14:01:44 -0700 2009
This reminds me of what Vanessa Place says in Notes On Conceptualisms (I think that's where she says it) about allegory: "All myth is an enriched pattern,/a two-faced proposition,/allowing its operator to say one thing and mean another, to lead a double life" (33)...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 14 01:01:40 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 01:02:38 -0700 2009 Michael Symmons wrote in a Guardian review: "Canadian poet Anne Carson’s tracing of a single love affair through to the breakdown of a marriage has won her many admirers. This book is an amazing balancing act - classical and colloquial, surreal...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 24 06:23:17 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 06:26:06 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Thu Jul 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 13:54:04 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 17:59:58 -0700 2009 That the beautiful when I encountered it would turn out to be
prior-- inside my own heart,
already eaten.
Not out there with purposiveness, with temple, with God.
Inside. He was already me.
Condition of me.

p 140]]> 5 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Apr 09 07:06:41 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 07:07:46 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Oct 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 08:22:07 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 12:10:12 -0700 2008 The tone is so unimagined and beautiful, raw and sad, that I could feel it all so keenly, though I've never felt this type of sorrow.
The wounded wife spoke so many truths. I also like that the husband...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Feb 17 00:25:25 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 00:26:12 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=150252