Synopses & Reviews
On Purpose examines the often brutal arena of human relations. Informed by both wit and a melancholic undercurrent, the book thoughtfully provokes concepts of happiness and sadness, of warring and reparation. The volume concludes with an affecting sequence about a marriage, inspired by that most influential of military treatises, The Art of War.
Review
"[Laird's] eye for detail and ear for diction are both acute and defamiliarizing....The common becomes strikingly uncommon, opposite to what we normally think or say, making the everyday stimulating to our reading sensibilities. Here is a poet with the patience to let a moment linger, to let words seep into the readers' imaginations and let readers ruminate on such salient designs." Salvatore Ruggiero, Rain Taxi (read the entire Rain Taxi review)
Synopsis
The much-anticipated new volume from award-winning poet Nick Laird, whose "superb lines" won praise from the New York Times Book Review.
Synopsis
On Purpose examines the often brutal arena of human relations. Informed by both wit and a melancholic undercurrent, the book thoughtfully provokes concepts of happiness and sadness, of warring and reparation. The volume concludes with an affecting sequence about a marriage, inspired by that most influential of military treatises, The Art of War.
Synopsis
'Laird"s ear for 'smallish lexical mercies" yields superb lines."Stephen Burt, New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Nick Laird is the author of two previous collections of poetry, On Purpose and To a Fault. His honors include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. Born in Ireland, he lives in New York and teaches at Princeton University.