Dislocations: The Selected Innovative Poems of Paul Muldoon

In this volume, poet John Kinsella presents a selection of Paul Muldoon’s most linguistically innovative and overtly `experimental’ poems. Kinsella’s introduction explores the complex politics of language and the dissection of `New World’–`Old World’ (false) verbal dynamics that inform Muldoon’s writing.

Format: Hardback
Length: 295 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2019
Publisher: Liverpool University Press

In a 2016 article featured in the New York Times, Roger Rosenblatt hailed Paul Muldoon as "one of the great poets of the past hundred years." He praised Muldoon's versatility, describing him as capable of encompassing a wide range of emotions and styles within his poems, including wordplay, lyricism, humor, melancholy, and anger. Rosenblatt noted that only William Butler Yeats had previously achieved such measured fury in his writing. This collection, curated by poet John Kinsella, showcases a selection of Muldoon's most linguistically innovative and overtly experimental works. While Muldoon is known for his innovative and "electric" approach, the focus of this selection lies in his linguistic departures within his own practice. Whether within or outside the avant-garde, Muldoon emerges as a maverick whose unique voice is deeply rooted in the politics of bilingual Irish poetics. He employs a forensic dissection of the false dynamics between the "New World" and the "Old World" in verbal exchange. Through the juxtaposition and proximity of his poems, readers and listeners are invited to appreciate aspects of Muldoon's work that may be less commonly discussed, casting him in a different light as a lyrical purist who engages playfully with language. Muldoon's poetry is characterized by its compelling force, propelled by a political agenda that extends beyond mere gameplay. It delves into the complexities of language and its role in shaping society. Muldoon's writing is driven by a clear purpose, and engaging with this book offers readers and listeners a glimpse into the potentialities of that purpose.

Weight: 500g
Dimension: 162 x 240 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781786942241