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Book synopsis

Lucid, tender, and strangely troubling, the poems in The Asylum Dance - which won the Whitbread Prize for Poetry - are hymns to the tension between the sanctuary of home and the lure of escape. This is territory that Burnside has made his own: a domestic world threaded through with myth and longing, beyond which lies a no man's land - the 'somewhere in between' - of dusk or dawn, of mists or sudden light, where the epiphanies are. Using the framework of four long poems, 'Ports', 'Settlements', 'Fields' and 'Roads', the poet balances presence with absence; we are shown the homing instinct - felt in the blood and marrow - as a pull to refuge, simplicity, and a safe haven, while at the same time hearing the siren call from the world beyond: the thrilling expectancy of fairground or dancehall, the possibilities of the open road. With a confident open line and complete command of the language, John Burnside writes with grace, agility and profound philosophical purpose, confirming his position in the front rank of contemporary poetry.

Book details

Book category Books in English Literature & literary studies Poetry Poetry by individual poets

• Full title: Asylum Dance
• Author: John Burnside
• Language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96
• EAN: 9780224090056
• ISBN: 0224090054
• ID: 04038948
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• Weight: 118 g
• Dimensions: 196 × 129 × 9 mm
• Date of publishing: 03. September 2009

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