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Wake Forest
University Press

Wake Forest University Press

Dedicated to Irish Poetry

For All We Know

$12.95

In Ciaran Carson‘s For All We Know, politics and psychology, history and love blend in a subtle, potent mix that recognizes how “the lie is memorized, the truth is remembered.” It is a pas de deux of two lovers, of the very poems themselves, that moves between personal attraction and betrayal against memories of the Troubles and other historical events (the 60s, the Second World War). This mysterious book of dialogues evokes Paris, Dresden and other European cities, while citing Cold War thrillers, fairy stories, popular music, and the art of the fugue. Ciaran Carson is one of the most versatile and imaginative contemporary poets writing in English. For All We Know is a virtuoso display of his powers.

Selected as the Spring 2008 choice by the Poetry Book Society

One of only five poetry books selected by Publishers Weekly as “Best Books of the Year”


Reviews

“Ciaran Carson’s new volume of poems, For All We Know, is one he has been schooling himself to write all of his writing life . . . [It] is a tour de force. In it we see a poet who draws on the past without repeating, using the poetic tradition and his own earlier works as stepping stones toward a new form. This exciting new structure and the haunting story within it stand as the culmination of his work to date.”
– Helen Emmitt, Irish Literary Supplement

“As with all of Carson’s poetry, this collection is essential.  No one else is doing anything like it.”
– Ross Moore, Culture Northern Ireland

For All We Know is a terrific book—smart, and funny, and warm. It invites (and rewards!) re-reading without being rebarbative about its intelligence or complexity. I can’t think of a book I have enjoyed more thoroughly over the past two years.”
– Jason B. Jones, bookslut.comr All We Know

SKU: 978-1-930630-38-3 Categories: ,

Description

In Ciaran Carson‘s For All We Know, politics and psychology, history and love blend in a subtle, potent mix that recognizes how “the lie is memorized, the truth is remembered.” It is a pas de deux of two lovers, of the very poems themselves, that moves between personal attraction and betrayal against memories of the Troubles and other historical events (the 60s, the Second World War). This mysterious book of dialogues evokes Paris, Dresden and other European cities, while citing Cold War thrillers, fairy stories, popular music, and the art of the fugue. Ciaran Carson is one of the most versatile and imaginative contemporary poets writing in English. For All We Know is a virtuoso display of his powers.

Selected as the Spring 2008 choice by the Poetry Book Society

One of only five poetry books selected by Publishers Weekly as “Best Books of the Year”


Reviews

“Ciaran Carson’s new volume of poems, For All We Know, is one he has been schooling himself to write all of his writing life . . . [It] is a tour de force. In it we see a poet who draws on the past without repeating, using the poetic tradition and his own earlier works as stepping stones toward a new form. This exciting new structure and the haunting story within it stand as the culmination of his work to date.”
– Helen Emmitt, Irish Literary Supplement

“As with all of Carson’s poetry, this collection is essential.  No one else is doing anything like it.”
– Ross Moore, Culture Northern Ireland

For All We Know is a terrific book—smart, and funny, and warm. It invites (and rewards!) re-reading without being rebarbative about its intelligence or complexity. I can’t think of a book I have enjoyed more thoroughly over the past two years.”
– Jason B. Jones, bookslut.comr All We Know

Additional information

Publication date:

2008

Pages:

110

Binding:

Paperback