Books
If you're looking for a great, classic book to read, look no further. Poet Anne Carson recommended 21 books for The Strand Bookstore in New York City, and any one of them would make a great addition to your TBR. Best of all, some of these poetry books and novels have been overlooked in recent years, so you might find a classic you've never even heard of on Carson's list! I've picked out five of Anne Carson's book picks to highlight below, but you should really check out her full list over at The Strand.
Anne Carson is a celebrated Canadian poet, who has earned Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships over the course of her career. For nearly 40 years, Carson has published novels in verse and poetry collections, such as The Autobiography of Red, as well as translations of ancient Greek works, including Sophocles' Antigone (as Antigonick), Sappho's fragments in If Not, Winter, and Euripides' The Bacchae (as Bakkhai).
In putting together her Author's Bookshelf at The Strand, Carson joins a cabal of great writers who have made reading recommendations through the bookstore. That group includes Fates and Furies author Lauren Groff and The Poet X author Elizabeth Acevedo, among others. And if this list whets your appetite for Carson, be sure to check out Norma Jeane Baker of Troy, a spoken and sung performance piece by Carson, which is currently playing at The Shed in New York City.
Check out the five books I've picked out from Anne Carson's Author's Bookshelf below:
'Monsieur Proust' by Céleste Albaret
Written by the subject's housekeeper, Monsieur Proust tells the story of the In Search of Lost Time author's later years, and of the companionship he formed with Céleste Albaret.
'The Death of the Heart' by Elizabeth Bowen
Set in interbellum London, The Death of the Heart centers on Portia, a young girl who moves in with her adult half-brother and his wife following the death of her father, and who struggles to find her place in the world in which she has spent so little time.
'Middlemarch' by George Eliot
Weaving through stories that connect the lives of the titular town's residents, Middlemarch primarily focuses on two young people who have married the wrong partners and must live with the consequences of their decisions.
'Paris Stories' by Mavis Gallant
Collecting Mavis Gallant's stories of Parisian natives and outsiders, Paris Stories is a celebrated work of short fiction that modern readers should not miss.
'Signs Preceding the End of the World' by Yuri Herrera
Three years after Makina's brother crossed into the U.S. from Mexico, their mother tasks her with delivering a package to him. To get there, Makina will have to ally herself with people she may not be able to trust, and dodge border patrol in order to cross safely over the boundary line.
Check out Anne Carson's full list at The Strand Bookstore, online and in store on May 6.
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