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mattlombardi's reviews
540 reviews
Wild Workshop by Bridget Meeds, Kay Adshead, Anne Carson
4.0
I dove into this book both to give myself an excuse to re-read carson’s lyric essay and to explore these lesser known writers. I was curious to see what kind of company carson keeps on the rare occasions when she steps out to collaborate. (maybe I’m wrong to assume but it seems like carson was the catalyst for this collection as she also did the painting on the cover and the title “wild workshop” comes from a line in her contribution.)
“the glass essay” by anne carson: 6 out of 5.
a flawless execution of longform poetry and the reason why I picked up this book in the first place. anne’s use of emily brontë as a device with which she copes with the dissolution of love and her dementia-addled father is powerful and inventive, and her classical prose is pristine and tactful. carson at her best.
“the slug sabbatical” by kay adshead: 1 out of 5.
a really good example of “wow, people can really just write whatever they want, huh?” from what I understand, this poem was intended to be a performance piece, which may explain why it comes across so poorly on paper. regardless, I highly recommend skipping this one entirely.
“light” by bridget meeds. 5 out of 5.
after the adshead poem I didn’t have much hope for this last one but boy was I delightfully surprised. it’s a poem consisting of 43 entries by an american student living in belfast during what must have been 1993 or 1994. the synthesis of anarchist attacks, tumultuous relationships, poverty-wage jobs, and urban ennui is gripping and artfully balanced. I enjoyed this so much that I was then so quickly disheartened to find that meeds has written essentially nothing else prior to or since this piece. as this book in its physical form is incredibly hard to come by, I’ve managed to find a link to meeds’ “light” and carson’s “glass essay” here for any interested:
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Light-a021141976
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48636/the-glass-essay
“the glass essay” by anne carson: 6 out of 5.
a flawless execution of longform poetry and the reason why I picked up this book in the first place. anne’s use of emily brontë as a device with which she copes with the dissolution of love and her dementia-addled father is powerful and inventive, and her classical prose is pristine and tactful. carson at her best.
“the slug sabbatical” by kay adshead: 1 out of 5.
a really good example of “wow, people can really just write whatever they want, huh?” from what I understand, this poem was intended to be a performance piece, which may explain why it comes across so poorly on paper. regardless, I highly recommend skipping this one entirely.
“light” by bridget meeds. 5 out of 5.
after the adshead poem I didn’t have much hope for this last one but boy was I delightfully surprised. it’s a poem consisting of 43 entries by an american student living in belfast during what must have been 1993 or 1994. the synthesis of anarchist attacks, tumultuous relationships, poverty-wage jobs, and urban ennui is gripping and artfully balanced. I enjoyed this so much that I was then so quickly disheartened to find that meeds has written essentially nothing else prior to or since this piece. as this book in its physical form is incredibly hard to come by, I’ve managed to find a link to meeds’ “light” and carson’s “glass essay” here for any interested:
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Light-a021141976
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48636/the-glass-essay