book data
285 ratings,
4.13
average rating, 30 reviews
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published
February 6th 2007
(first published 2006)
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
binding
Paperback, 96 pages
literary awards
PEN/Winship Award (2006)
isbn
0374530742
(isbn13: 9780374530747)
description
Averno is a small crater lake in southern Italy, regarded by the ancient Romans as the entrance to the underworld. That place gives its name to Louise...more
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avg 4.13
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in May, 2008
Louise Gluck, Averno Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006)
I've never been entirely sure what to think of the work of Louise Gluck; Averno, however, has certainly tipped the balance into the “dislike” bucket. When she is good, she is very, very good; when she is bad, however, you get stuff like this:
“'You girls,' my mother said, 'should marry
someone like your father.'
That was one remark. Another was,
'There is no one like your father.'”
(“...more
I've never been entirely sure what to think of the work of Louise Gluck; Averno, however, has certainly tipped the balance into the “dislike” bucket. When she is good, she is very, very good; when she is bad, however, you get stuff like this:
“'You girls,' my mother said, 'should marry
someone like your father.'
That was one remark. Another was,
'There is no one like your father.'”
(“...more
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Prism
Louise Gluck
1.
Who can say what the world is? The world
is in flux, therefore
unreadable, the winds shifting,
the great plates invisibly shifting and changing-
2.
Dirt. Fragments
of blistered rock. On which
the exposed heart constructs
a house, memory: the gardens
manageable, small in scale, the beds
damp at the sea's edge-
3.
As one takes in
an enemy, through these windows
o...more
Louise Gluck
1.
Who can say what the world is? The world
is in flux, therefore
unreadable, the winds shifting,
the great plates invisibly shifting and changing-
2.
Dirt. Fragments
of blistered rock. On which
the exposed heart constructs
a house, memory: the gardens
manageable, small in scale, the beds
damp at the sea's edge-
3.
As one takes in
an enemy, through these windows
o...more
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(1 person liked it)
1 comment
Read in December, 2006
recommends it for:
People with a passion for contemporary poetry
I preface this by saying I am a huge fan of Louise Gluck's poetry - she'd have to fall a long way for me to not consider her breathtaking, amazing, articulately intense - a creative flame. Averno is no exception to her previous work I have read.
Averno; again, elegant, emotive writing that frequently looks sparse upon the page and yet is dense with meaning, possibility, passion!
I was taken by her Persephone poems, in particular, A Myth of Devotion [p 58]...
...more
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Read in April, 2009
At the start of this book we learn this: “Averno. Ancient name Avernus. A small crater lake, ten miles west of Naples, Italy; regarded by the ancient Romans as the entrance to the underworld.” This collection of linked poems is about passing between worlds: childhood and adulthood, death and life, existence and memory, and seasons, too; it uses the myth of Persephone to play with some of those passings. I like the mix of mythic and not, lines like this, about riding the subway and reading: ...more
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Read in February, 2007
inspired to buy more poetry and deeply in love with louise gluck. reminded of this love by seeing her read a couple times in the past three months. this collection changed my approach to my own work. gluck deals with some of the same types of imagery and historical/mythological stories that i like to incorporate in my poetry, but she's obviously a vastly different writer than i am. this book is beautiful. especially loved the first "persephone" poem.
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Read in December, 2008
at first, upon eagerly opening this volume, i thought "uh-oh" when i saw all the LONG poems. generally, i don't really get why any poem should ever be more than a page or two. but the very long poems in 'averno' are made up of numbered sections that read like a collection of normal-sized poems. they are connected, of course, but louise gluck has made a habit of writing entire volumes of connected, thematically-grouped poems, so what's the difference? this is one of many things i don...more
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Read in June, 2009
The last word on the liminal. The "Persephone" poems are stunning, in particular, but different poems become my favorite, depending on the hour. This would be a reasonable choice for any trip where you were limited to one book. To the point, but much to ponder.
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Read in January, 2008
Averno is as bracing and clean and as perfect as the stark scherzos of winter evoked by Louise Glück. The poet explores, with moments of splintering incision, the myths of Persephone, the difficulty of reconciling the dying body to an earth that itself seems at once death-bound (headed for winter) yet renewable (headed for summer), and the strange regions that the soul fitfully inhabits in a world devoid of comfort or faith ("weren't we necessary to the earth"?)
This redoub...more
This redoub...more
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2 comments
This book is about the underworld, death. It is amazing. Read it.
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This book helped me realize how much I need poetry in my life. Louise Gluck had a beautiful way of rediscovering well known myths, particular the myth of Persephone - she brought new life to it by unraveling the challenges that live unnoticed inside our commonly accepted interpretations. Averno is a physical place in Italy - a small crater lake that Romans viewed as the entrance to the underworld. Gluck straddles the two worlds in these poems; she gives the reader entrance to straddle them wi...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
poets, lovers of myth
God, she's good. Whether she's writing clear, matter-of-fact statements, or pairing mysterious images with deep emotion, she consistently crafts heart-wrenching poems. While spare in words, they are lush in feeling. Her blending of the human individual and the earth in "Landscape" is alchemical. This book is not for the faint of heart.
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09/09/07
MaryWeatherwell
is currently reading it
Let's keep this simple -- Glück sometimes says the things that would be better left implied, but then there are lines like these:
It is snowing on earth; the cold wind says
Persephone is having sex in hell.
Unlike the rest of us she doesn't know
what winter is, only that
she is what causes it.
It is snowing on earth; the cold wind says
Persephone is having sex in hell.
Unlike the rest of us she doesn't know
what winter is, only that
she is what causes it.
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In the summer of 2003 Gluck's poem "Prism" was published in the New Yorker....it so moved me I tore it out and have carted it around on my person for nearly five years. And now here it is like a jewel in a crown of many-- this collection is breathtaking.
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Read in August, 2007
I love to wallow in the language of Louise Gluck. She has a way of making the natural world a living, breathing thing--of giving the earth a human body and putting her humans on an earthly plane--that I adore. Good collection!
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
poets, or those who love language
This book, and the writing of Louise Gluck most of all leaves me speechless. She knows how to express herself concisely. She uses refreshing language, and is my favorite poet. check it out.
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Read in May, 2008
I was turned onto Gluck as a TA this semester and have been amazed by her poetry ever since. She is not a fluffy poet and the work is not easilt accesible--but it is worth the effort.
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04/19/07
Elizabeth
added it
Book of poetry by one of my favorite people. Explores myth of Persephone/Demeter as metaphor and reflection of poet's struggle with her own life and love. Lovely.
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Read in June, 2008
I'm enjoying this very much after having picked it up at the Westport Public Library used book sale. I love the underlying theme of the Persephone myth.
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2 comments
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
poets and those who love them
I'm a sucker for poems that reinterpret the Greek myths, so I love this modern masterpiece, which reinterprets the Persephone myth.
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