Sophocles

Rachel Kitzinger

Eamon Grennan

The latest title to join the acclaimed Greek Tragedy in New Translations series, Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus tells the story of the last day in the life of Oedipus. It was written at the end of the fifth century BCE in Athens, in the final years of the "Golden Age" of Athenian culture, and in the last year of Sophocles' own life. At the center of the play is the mysterious transformation of Oedipus from an old and blind beggar, totally dependent on his daughters, to the man who rises from his seat and, without help, leads everyone to the place where he is destined to die. In the background of this transformation stands the grove of the Furies, the sacred place of the implacable goddesses who pursue the violators of blood relationships. Although Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, is an obvious target of the Furies' vengeance, he enters their grove at the beginning of the play, sure that it is the resting place Apollo has predicted for him. The reversals and paradoxes in the play speak to the struggle that Oedipus' life and the action of the play bring vividly before us: how do we as humans, subject to constant change, find stable ground on which to stand and define our moral lives? Sophocles offers his play as a witness to the remarkable human capacity to persevere in this struggle.

Oedipus at Colonus

Himself an Irish poet and critic, Grennan (English, Vassar College) begins with Yeats, then goes on to discuss such diverse poets as Kavanagh, Muldoon, Kinsella, and McGuckian. He also looks at poetry in the work of James Joyce and John McGahern. Most of the 34 essays have been published in journals. They are not indexed. Distributed by Fordham U. Press. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Irish Poetry in the Twentieth Century

Facing the Music

Praise for As If It Matters "Eamon Grennan's poems are like late 20th century verbal equivalents of 17th century Dutch paintings. How luminously they capture the brimming fullness of daily life, how scrupulously they come to terms with the complex reality of the limited, given world, how radiantly they clarify 'the daily/ineluctable clutter of our lives.' These poems shine and matter."--Edward Hirsch "This new collection contains some of his [Eamon's Grennan's] most telling work, and with so fine a poet that is saying a great deal."--W.S. Merwin "With a grace and precision such as come only with a perfect ear, Eamon Grennan welcomes us into the midst of that place where thoughts and sensations somehow magically come together and coexist as one. What he shows us there is now grave, now playful, but never less than life-enhancing."--Amy Clampitt Eamon Grennan was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1941, and educated at University College, Dublin, and Harvard University. His poems have been published widely in literary magazines in the U.S. and abroad, including the Kenyon Review, New Yorker, Paris Review, Poetry Ireland Review, and Grand Street. His first U.S. book publication was What Light There Is (North Point, 1989). He is a professor of English at Vassar College, and spends his leave-time in Ireland.

As If It Matters

poems

There now

Still Life with Waterfall

A new collection of poetry by the Irish poet who won the 2003 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize brings the details of life alive in works that capture the light glancing off stone, the contours of the body, and a Chardin still life. Original.

Poems

The Quick of It

THE RETROSPECTIVE COLLECTION BY EAMON GRENNAN, WHOSE POETRY "ILLUMINATES, CLARIFIES, AND DIRECTS OUR GAZE TOWARD WHAT IT IS WE LOVE BUT OFTEN OVERLOOK" (THE NEW YORKER) Out of Sight collects poetry from across Eamon Grennan's decorated career, with generous selections from his seven previous books and more than thirty new poems. This is the definitive book by one of contemporary poetry's most sensuous and shimmering voices.

Eamon Grennan

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