I can't say enough good things about these lectures, which mesh Celan, Simonides and Karl Marx with a grace that makes their union seem inevitable. The way Carson folds together money, language and memory reminds me of Ezra Pound without the shouting. Her insights have a math-like clarity ("Eureka! I've got it!") that brings two extreme ends of our history under the same light. You'll never mistake negation and loss for modern inventions after reading this book. The coins have changed since Simonides's time but the economy's remarkably the same. The funny thing is, after Carson's dazzling treatment, lament never looked so good.

Like _Eros the Bittersweet_, this is a fine example of Carson's scrupulous and beautifully- written scholarship. And like all of her work, the strangeness of her intensity and consideration is charming and virtuosic. The juxtaposition of Simonides and Celan *works* in spite of the centuries separating their oeuvres; even as she's making connections within the text, one wonders how she's going to pull it off--and then she does. Carson's discussion of poetic economy (both monetary and linguistic)--a topic not often discussed in criticism--illuminates the coinages and clipped syntax of Celan, providing leverage on reading a difficult poet, and will most likely prove to be a useful critical tool for reading other modern poets. Carson couples intellectual density with warm, lyrical prose, yielding a text of intricate research and rewarding insight--a rare and real pleasure for readers of poetry and/or criticism.

The Greeks did not cover everything but they made a pretty good start. Anne Carson has always been the queen of fitting classical allusions to the evident. The book could be described as an extended exploration of 'Odi et amo: quare id faciam, fortase requiris/ nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.'- Catullus. (I hate and I love/ Why do I, you ask ?/ I don't know, but it's happening/ and it hurts.)A splendid place to mine for obscure quotes: 'We aren't shutting you out of the revel, but we aren't inviting you either/ For you're a pain when you're present, and beloved when you are away'- Theognis

Eros contains a series of short essays on the ancient Greek notion of desire. Using Sappho's poetry as a touchstone, Carson explores Sappho's term "glukupikron"(literally, "sweetbitter"). She touches upon a myriad of ancient texts; the second half of the book draws largely from Plato's Phaedrus. Most exciting for me was her explanation of the similarities between the edges of erotic desire and the edges of the alphabet. This culminates in a wonderful series of chapters in which she relates erotic desire with the desire for knowledge. It was exhilarating!! What's more, I found the book extremely accessible. A must read!

This work is a treasure, I don't know how we can thank Pof. Carson enough.

There is precious little known about the ancient Greek Poet, Sappho. Most of us know the obvious, that she was a famous poet and lyricist (meaning, she composed music to be sung with the lyre) and that she lived on the island of Lesbos off the Greek coast in about 630 B.C.. However, almost all other details about her life, such as they are, come from texts written about her by other ancient writers; of the 9 books of lyrics she is reported to have written, none survive today.

Fragments of poetry written by Sappho still exist, but most are damaged or illegible. Hence, here as in other previous works of the poetry of Sappho, the reader is left with only fragments of what clearly must have been delicate and breathtakingly beautiful poetry. As Ms. Carson says in her introduction to her translations, the reader is left with a profound sense of wonder when confronted with the small snippets of Sappho's poetry. For example, all that survives of poem 36 is "I long and seek after". What, we wonder, does the rest of the poem pertain to? What flowing scenes did she paint with her words that we can never know?

I personally am not a Classicist, though I HAVE read through many of the surviving texts of the ancient worlds: Beowulf & The Odyssey, for example, and occasionally I'll attack some texts in Latin and have a go at the translation. However, for the most part, I am not a scholar of ancient times or texts. I'm here to say that one does NOT, even for a second, need to know much about ancient Greek culture, text or times to thoroughly enjoy these translations. Granted, you will find that most poems are little more than bits of a whole (sometimes only a word or two survives), but even these small pieces will cause your imagination to soar.

Ms. Carson has also boldly gone where no translator has gone before (to my knowledge). In previous translations of Sappho's poetry that I've read, the pages are crammed tight with the fragments themselves, explanations and footnotes. In Ms. Carson's book, each page is dedicated to one fragment of Sappho's poetry, regardless of it's length. In this respect, a poem that is only three words long has an entire page dedicated to itself. This is a wonderful touch, as it means that the reader's entire attention can be focused only on that poem, no matter how small, without the distraction of commentary by the author (Ms. Carson puts an extensive appendix at the back where she adds her thoughts and comments on the fragment's origin, word meaning and characters). Opposite the English translations are the original fragments in their original Greek characters. I myself cannot read Greek, but I found it a beautiful and thought-provoking touch to be able to look at what Sappho wrote in her own language. Though I'm not able to read Greek, it made the text more alive to have it there for me to look at and examine.

In conclusion, anyone who enjoys ancient Greek culture, ancient history or simply enjoys reading poetry should not hesitate to add this book to their collection. I'd personally go so far as to say that if you've got a different volume of Sappho's poetry, make some shelf space to add THIS book as well. For the clean, uncluttered page and lyrical, moving translation, I highly recommend this work and highly compliment Ms. Carson on her work.

I would recommend this book for teachers who want a wealth of resources for teaching math in a meaningful way. It does not provide any problems or worksheets but instead gives you multiple ways to teach students math. I use it weekly. I use the activities and then I assign a page out of the book to check what they have learned.

Recently I reread Julia Walsh's book, and found it even more exciting than the first time. Her ability to focus on what is important in life, and to overcome whatever falls her way is something for all of us to emulate. Her energy, competence and desire to share her knowledge with others shows through on every page.

Julia entered the brokerage business at a time when it was closed to women. She focused on her goals and was accepted for her knowledge and expertise. She did not try to become one of the "men."

In the last chapter Julia offers advice and encouragement to any woman desiring a successful career combined with a strong family life.

i read this book for the first time in january of 1999...i had searched everywhere for it after reading about it in time magazine, and when i got ahold of it i was hooked by the first page, on geryon, on anne carson, on red... in the past year i have returned to this book again and again..it has helped me through moves and other upheavals, and reading other work by carson makes me want to drop everything and dedicate myself to learning ancient greek. this is the most compelling, troubling, and comforting book i've read...well ever. if given the chance, this book shines in so many arenas...and whether or not it's prose isn't important.

"Autobiography of Red" is the story of Geryon, a young boy with red skin and large wings, who grows into a young man. He is in love with Herakles, a young man who seems to return Geryon's affection, but is actually quite cruel in his fickleness. The two encounter each other on and off over the years, Geryon seeking love, Herakles seeking adventure. Their paths eventually cross in Buenos Aires, of all places, where Herakles is with another young man, Ancash, recording the sounds of various volcanos. The three venture through South America together, the tension between the three of them almost palpable, at least to the more sensitive two of the group, Ancash and Geryon. It is here that the three must decide on the nature of their friendship, and Geryon on the nature of his life.

This book is written in poetic free verse, and Ann Carson's style is nothing less than magical. It might seem difficult for readers accustomed to straightforward prose, but if one lets the words wash over them, their meaning will all be clear soon enough, and their beauty alone will convince the reader of their merit. The story is based on Greek myth, but rather than Herakles killing Geryon the monster literally, he "kills" by breaking his heart. Ultimately, the book's message seems to be that Geryon must learn to love himself first. The book is beautifully written, and cannot be recommended highly enough, to any reader who wants to read a delicate story in a challenging format.

Anne Carson has created a mindscape. Her choice of style, dialogue (both Internal and Between), and language situate her characters on a mental landscape rather than a physical one. Even the frame of the story grounds the book in time as opposed to space. The book's construction and layout are beautiful. Carson's character Geryon holds such integrity that I now see little red wings on men and women everywhere. Read this book in one or two sittings for a completely overwhelming experience.

Forget about all that Autobiography stuff, and definitely try to forget all the recent stuff this chick's been writing. Anne Carson is at her best in the first section of this book, "The Glass Essay."

What makes this book worth it is the very first essay in the collection, The Glass Essay, a work that is written in verse and that is tinged with the kind of mix of immagination and scholarship that has made Carson's work so popular. By far, however, this is one of her best works. Certainly better than the journeys she has made into poetry exclusively recently. Read this essay before any of her other work and you will have an excellent primer for this evocative writer!

This book contains one traditional essay, a fascinating study of language and gender (classical Greece to Freud), and five poems which blur the line between essay and poetry. The net result is the exploration of very complex thoughts in a very readable form - a form that hides the complexity behind very concrete, common life images.

In "The Glass Essay" grief over a lost relationship, the relationship between the Bronte sisters, the relationship between mother-daughter, and the writings of Emily Bronte are explored in a seamless manner.

"The Truth About God" is a search for the meaning of God in our era. The opening stanza sets the tone for the exploration: "My religion makes no sense / and does not help me / therefore I pursue it." It draws from Beethoven's life, from Teresa of Avila, from the apophatic theology ...

"TV men" mixes Greek heroes and Gods with filming - meet Hector and Socrates in a new environment. "The Fall of Rome: A Traveller's Guide" explores personal relationships (or lack thereof) when language becomes a barrier not a bridge. "Book of Isaiah" explores the mindset behind the Biblical text of Isaiah.

The strength of this book is that the vast knowledge behind the writing is made accessible to the reader rather than being required of the reader. This is a book that makes the reader want to read more of the author's work.

Great drama. I'm not a huge "classics" fan and yet I enjoyed this. If you're into Greek mythology and like flowery language and prose (and lots of melodrama) you will enjoy this. HINT: don't read these plays line-by-line like a poem - I find that it's more difficult to follow them that way. Read this like you would a novel.

The murder of Clytemnestra by her son Orestes is unique in Greek mythology in that it is the one story for which we have extant versions by all three of the great tragic poets. Consequently, it is insightful to notice how each tragedy privileges different parts of the story. In "Choephoroe" ("The Libation Bearers") by Aeschylus, the middle part of his "Orestia" trilogy, Orestes is obedient to the gods in avenging the death of his father and the pivotal scene is the confrontation between mother and son when Clytemnestra begs for her life. In "Electra" by Euripides the title character has to persuade Orestes to go through with the deed and the dramatic confrontation is now between mother and daughter. In the Sophocles version of "Electra" the emphasis is on the psychological dimensions of the situation; after all, it is from this play that Freud developed his concept of the Electra complex.

Towards that end Sophocles creates a character, Chrysothemis, another sister to both Orestes and Electra. The situation is that Orestes is assumed to be dead and the issues is whether the obligation to avenge the death of Agamemnon now falls to his daughters. There is an attendant irony here in that Clytemnestra justified the murder of her husband in part because of his sacrifice of their oldest daughter Iphigenia before sailing off to the Trojan War (the curse on the House of Atreus, which involves Aegisthus on his own accord and not simply as Clytemnestra's lover, is important but clearly secondary). The creation of Chrysothemis allows for Sophocles to write a dialogue that covers both sides of the dispute. Electra argues that the daughters must assume the burden and avenge their father while Chrysothemis takes the counter position.

Sophocles does come up with several significant twists on the Aeschylus version. For one thing, Sophocles reverses the order of the two murders and has Clytemnestra slain first, which sets up an interesting scene when Aegisthus gets to revel over what he believes to be the corpse of Orestes and makes the death of the usurper the final scene of the play. This becomes part of the most significant difference between the Sophocles version and the others. Whereas Orestes emerges from the skene distraught after the murder of his mother in "Cheophoroe" and is repentant in the Euripides version of "Electra," Sophocles has Orestes calmly declaring that all in the house is well.

Electra is not as central a character to the drama as she is in the Euripides version, mainly because she does not have a functional purpose in this tragedy. Her main purpose is to lament over the death of the father and the supposed death of her brother. She does not provide Orestes with a sense of resolve because in this version he does not consult the oracles to learn whether or not he should kill his mother but rather how he can do the deed. Still, the part of Electra has enormous potential for performance. Ironically, this "Electra" is the least interesting of the three, despite the fact Freud made it infamous: by his standards the Euripides play speaks more to the desire of a daughter to see her mother dead, but since Sophocles wrote "Oedipus the King" it probably seemed fair to point to his version of this tale as well.

this play,i.e., Electra is literally an electtifying tradgedy about revenge. One can almsot say that it is in a way a precursor to Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The topics of youth, life, passion, friendship, character, faith, nature, heartache, aging and musings are covered in this wonderful collection of poems. William Blake; Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Robert Frost; Thomas Moore; Robert Louis Stevenson; Edger Guest; Andrew Marvell; Shakespeare; Browning; Kipling; Martin Luther and Robert Browning are all here and more. I loved it!

This is a wonderful book of Poems! It contains many wonderful poems by Robert Frost,Shakespeare,Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and many more. You will surely cherish this book!

If you've noticed Carson's stardom recently you owe it to yourself to read this first book. I give it only 3 stars because a lot of the book is actually pretty dull poetry. But about 80 pages of it makes up "The Anthropology of Water," an extraordinary journey in one woman's life, emotionally, poetically, and culturally.

Plainwater is a work of art that is unlike any contemporary piece of writing I've read. It's heady with the themes of loss and freedom and the narrator speaks from a place of quiet intensity that burns more vehemently with each observation. She is on a road-trip, the narrator, with a companion that threatens an isolation more profound than any found alone. Constantly is the backdrop, the theme, and the language of water. One can get lost in Carson's language and, like any work of poetry, the language crosses the line and becomes something else: you are at one point no longer reading but are taking in the narrator's interior life as your own. The landscape of your mind and the story has become one and the same through the median skin of the words. Can't recommend this book highly enough. Like Glass, Irony and God- it bespeaks of maps not really charted by any other contemporary writer but maps that any woman will recognize as partly her own. It crosses into philosophy and parable simply in its adherance to its own interiority: like Hesse, Goethe, Novalis, Holderlin, Rilke et al... it shifts into another kind of story, the kinds that are shamanistic, that place in the reader reflections of their own truth.

Anne Carson comes from the genre of poetry, but in this book she has mixed that form with essays and come up withy a brilliant hybrid. If you like ideas that sing then this is the book for you! One of my absolute favorites!