In this radical collection Ciaran Carson’s encapsulates the black taxis and the blackbird of Belfast, whose past and traditions the book refracts.
The historical reach of Breaking News embraces ‘The Gladstone Bar circa 1954’, ‘Russia’ and ‘The Indian Mutiny’ as well as responses to paintings by Goya and Géricault. Shorter poems pave the way for ‘The War Correspondent’, a series of poems which dwell on the horrors and the spirit of episodes in the Crimean War. Ciaran Carson records the force of terror and beauty with surgical precision and lapidary skill. His words and phrases resonate among the open spaces which surround them. The mosaic qualities of these poems incorporate silences, interruptions and fractures in communication.
Gesturing towards William Carlos Williams’ rhythms of speech and living, this prodigiously gifted, ever inventive poet extends the range of his Irish idiom.
