Ciaran Carson’s Collected Poems, one of the outstanding books of our time, has been followed by four collections of original poems and translations. This new selection, From There to Here, demonstrates the myriad facets of his virtuosity. It is a retrospective of an artist’s work that is characterized at every stage by formal, linguistic and imaginative opulence. Bookended by previously unpublished translations from Irish, the meticulousness of its choices and arrangement reveals and emphasizes, in echoes and mirror images, an essential integrity.
Published on the occasion of his 70th birthday, it is truly a marvel.
‘It is impossible to do justice to the breadth and depth of Carson’s work (which includes fabulous translations of The Táin and Inferno and volumes of wonderful prose) but this fine comprehensive volume is no ordinary selection. The rearrangement or “there to here” of his poems – which have always spoken to each other – calls out clearer and sharper than ever, an interactive treasure chest from one of our greatest poets.’ — Martina Evans, The Irish Times
‘From his dazzling, astonishingly inventive translations to his own poems and prose, Ciaran Carson continues to demonstrate what it means to have ears that truly work. He is one of the best poets on either side of the Atlantic and the publication of every one of his books is a major event in our literatures.‘ — Charles Simic
