Viper Rum: Poems
by Mary Karr
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In her first book since "The Liar's Club", Karr delves into the autobiographical subject matter of her two early collections. Various beloveds are birthed and buried in these lyrics, some of which--as the title suggests--deal with drink. Exact and surprising, her poems "take on the bedevilments of fate and grief with a diabolical edge of their own" ("Poetry").Tags
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I've several of her books and I really enjoy Mary Karr's writing. This particular book has a nice selection of poems, but it also contains a well constructed essay at the end called "Against Decoration." This essay was the highlight of the book for me because Karr explains why she doesn't like this style of writing and builds a strong case. The book is worth reading just for the essay and is something that I think many new writers should read as they develop their own styles and voices.
her best poems seem to be about her son
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14+ Works 9,012 Members
Mary Karr's memoir, "The Liars' Club," won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award. A poet & essayist, she has won Pushcart prizes in both genres. Her other grants & awards include the prestigious Whiting Award & the Bunting Fellowship from Radcliffe College. Her previous poetry collections are "Abacus," "The Devil's Tour," & "Viper Rum." She is a full show more professor at Syracuse University. (Publisher Provided) Mary Karr was born in Groves, Texas on January 16, 1955. She received an M.F.A. from Goddard College in 1979. Before becoming a poet and memoirist, she held various jobs in the computer and telecommunications industries. Her works include Lit, The Liars' Club, Cherry, and The Art of Memoir. She has also published four volumes of poetry: Abacus, The Devil's Tour, Viper, and Sinners Welcome. She was a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry in 2005 and has won Pushcart prizes for both her poetry and her essays. She was an assistant professor at numerous colleges and universities including Tufts University, Emerson College, Harvard University, and Sarah Lawrence College. She is currently the Peck Professor of English Literature at Syracuse University. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Viper Rum: Poems
- Original title
- Viper Rum
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- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.83)
- Languages
- English
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- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
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