The Markov Chain
Paperback 68 pages English Apr 14, 2017
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"When Basil Bunting declared that "Pens are too light. / Take a chisel to write," I imagine he had in mind the kind of exact and exacting poetry Ted Pearson has been steadily producing for decades. In The Markov Chain, Pearson presents a series of eight-line poems, each composed of four exquisitely crafted alexandrines: "These formal restrictions // are like benedictions . . . Constraints lead to freedoms // exceeding predictions." Raising the ante, Pearson uses these formal constraints to probe the social constraints contemporary culture imposes on art and life. "When the People say we, // they don't mean you and me. / The consensus they're seeking // will set no one free." This double take on constraints creates an animating tension throughout the book, one in which "The gist of the lyric // tells a whole other tale." Pearson's chiseled poems enact a deep investigation into language that at once revels in and questions its own constraints. Follow at your own pace, but Pearson's ear, as always, won't lead you astray." --Paul Naylor
- Author:
- Ted Pearson
- Publisher:
- Shearsman Books
- Publication Date:
- Apr 14, 2017
- Number of pages:
- 68 pages
- Language:
- English
- Binding:
- Paperback
- ISBN-10:
- 1848615337
- ISBN-13:
- 9781848615335