(some of) The Adventures of Carlyle, My Imaginary Friend (Iowa Poetry Prize)
Books / Paperback
Books › Poetry › American › General
ISBN: 0877458790 / Publisher: University of Iowa Press, April 2004
In this perplexing and fanciful odyssey, poems that at first seem sweet and peaceful turn darker, stimulating and enervating the reader. Winner of the 2003 Iowa Poetry Prize. Original.
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At first glance these poems (which read like one long odyssey) seem sweet and peaceful—like taking a walk in the woods. But then, things turn darker: a storm blows in—and with it some Aliens, Ghost and Ghoul, the Hanging Man. Luckily, Carlyle has a few good friends such as Ruth, the Hag, the Boy, who are staunch and true and faithful. A whistling-in-the-dark suspense alternately stimulates and enervates the witness.“Carlyle is spore, and mild. / He is swoon &sherbet.” Endearing and kind, if not actually cruel, he is also cold and strange. He shapeshifts, transforming into Magician and Jester, Surgeon and Scientist, Cloud; he studies fire and mirrors and bores holes in his own skull, looking for heaven. Throughout his many adventures, which range from the ludicrous to the life-threatening, he flies into the light and carries the reader with him on his perplexing and fanciful journey.
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