Carnations: Poems (Princeton Series of Contemporary Poets, 59)

Review Winner of a 2015 Whiting Award, Whiting FoundationFinalist for the 2012 Levis Reading Prize, Virginia Commonwealth University[Carelli] is able to write in a way that allows for the sublime and the absurd to come together. But Carellis freeflowering humour never distracts from his purpose and the ending is masterly. . . . Reading these uncommonly fluent poems is like being on a raft in a fast river. It is rewarding to go with the flow, trust and keep the faith (as Carelli tries to do).Kate Kellaway, The ObserverCarellis debut introduces a voice as refreshingly contemporary as it is pleasantly expansive in its subject matter. . . . The results are as elegant and eloquent as they are humane and believable. Publishers WeeklyIn the symbology of flowers, carnations in general indicate affection. There is no poem entitled Carnations in Carellis first collection. But affection is its master mood, the affection of a vital young man for the world of his experience. . . . Theyre real experiences, conducive to mixed feelings, yet Carelli writes of them in language so enlivening and fresh that they become blessings.Ray Olson, Booklist[A] promisingly talented writer.Benjamin Ivry, Newark StarLedgerCarnations pays homage to the poets masters and ushers in an exciting new talent. . . . This wonderful collection is as good a guide as they get.Piotr Florczyk, On the Seawall blogThis is a magnificent book. . . . Ooh! God bless these poems!Raphael Allison, Rain Taxi Review of BooksWarm, conversational and colloquial.Keith Richmond, Tribune Product Description In Anthony Carellis remarkable debut, Carnations, the poems attempt to reanimate dead metaphors as blossoms: wild and lovely but also fleeting, mortal, and averse to the touch. Here, the poems are carnations, not only flowers, but also bodymaking words. Nodding to influences as varied as George Herbert, Francis Ponge, Fernando Pessoa, and D. H. Lawrence, Carelli asserts that the poets materialswords, objects, phenomenaare sacred, wilting in the moment, yet perennially renewed. Often taking titles from a biblical vocabulary, Carnations reminds us that unremarkable places and eventsa game of Frisbee in a winter park, workers stacking panes in a glass factory, or the daily opening of a cafcan, in a blink, be new. A short walk home is briefly transformed into a cathedral, and the workworn body becomes a dancer, a prophet, a muse.______From Carnations:THE PROPHETSAnthony CarelliA river. And if not the river nearby, then a dreamof a river. Nothing happens that doesnt happenalong a river, however humble the water may be.Take Rowan Creek, the trickle struggling to lugits mirroring across Poynette, wherein, suspended,so gentle and shallow, I learned to walk, bobbingat my fathers knees. Later, whenever we triedto meander on our inner tubes, wed get lodgedon the bottom. Seth, remember, no matter how wedkick and shove off, wed just get lodged again?At most an afternoon would carry us a hundred feettoward the willows. Wed piss ourselves on purposejust to feel the spirits of our warmth haloing out.And once, two bald men on the footbridge, bowingin the sky, stared down at us without a word. About the Author Anthony Carelli was raised in Poynette, Wisconsin, and studied at the University of WisconsinMadison before completing an MFA in poetry at New York University. His poems have appeared in various magazines, including the New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. This is his first book.