A Book of Readings on Anne Carson

Anne Carson: Ecstatic Lyre collects new and brief essays on Carson’s work, beginning with her study of Sappho and ending with her most recent collaborations, translations, and poems. Edited by Joshua Marie Wilkinson, it includes pieces “ from a number of dissimilar writers who all recognized the influence and import of Carson’s work on their own” (4). After sketching some of the book’s most rewarding essays, this review considers the broader value of Ecstatic Lyre: despite some drawbacks in presentation, the book is full of stimulating perspectives on Carson, and it vividly suggests her significance to another generation of writers.