At first glance, Carson’s books look like a lot of work. Most of them have their roots in classical Greek or Latin literature, aren’t formatted like anything you’ve ever seen before, and seem so bizarre you aren’t sure which way is up. In this instance, first impressions are deceiving (kind of).
This novel in verse originates from the fragmented poetry of Stesichoros. (What, you haven’t heard of him?) Stesichoros had the unfortunate problem of coming “after Homer and before Gertrude Stein, a difficult interval for a poet;” much of his poetry has been lost over time, as well as classical scholar’s knowledge of his life.
Anne Carson begins with the little remains of his work we have left to create a modern day epic of Greek proportions. The novel reads part Beckett play, part Greek tragedy, & part contemporary poetry. The work is timeless, or rather, it is literature that transcends time and place. Although it is set in the present day, the struggles of a Greek hero are just as relevant to our modern day life as they were over 2000 years ago.
The sequel to Autobiography of (& did I mention it came out THIS WEEK!) Except the characters have new names and the verse looks different on the page (instead of sprawling lines, they are close-knit like columns). Anne Carson’s style forces us to question what is essential in the story. Does it matter if the names of the characters change? The genders? The setting? Isn’t the story just as applicable? Can it be just as true?
I’m going to be honest here, I’m a sucker for books that come in boxes. After her brother died, Anne Carson compiled a notebook to grieve the loss. The result is Nox. Her notebook has been reproduced in an accordian-folded scroll, contained in the box. The book is a work of art. Diving through cultural layers, Anne Carson produces a portrait of grief and family.
A retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone. (Anne Carson translated, Bianca Stone illustrated). Antigonick is beautiful–Bianca’s drawings are printed on semi-transparent paper, bound intermittenly. The verse is arranged like a free-form poem and spreads across the page. The book follows the story of Antigone pretty closely, though it does vere off course every once and awhile (I doubt Kreon discussed Hegel in the original), but the modernization of the text only adds to the depth of the story.
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