Drawing inspiration from a range of fictional detectives The Detective’s Chair is a whimsical collection of 32 short prose poems which explores creative problem-solving.
In a playful homage to these colourful sleuths, Carson focuses in on the nature of creativity itself, acknowledging that it’s often in the moments of reflective ‘sitting,’ away from the bustle of clue-collecting and intentional effort, that the pieces of the ‘solution’ – be it crime or poem – might start coming together. Eureka!
Each poem is beautifully illustrated with delicate line drawings by René Carrasco, bringing to life the space of reflective possibility for each fictional detective.
From the publisher’s blurb
Launch: April 15th 2023
The Detective’s Chair is dedicated to Dorothy Porter, Australian poet extraordinaire, who first put the intersections of poetry and detective fiction on the map.
To be launched by Andrea Goldsmith
“Anne M. Carson’s exquisitely crafted prose poems … explore works created by generations of crime authors. The result is bite-sized morsels of reading pleasure.” Endorsement Carmel Shute, author and founder Sisters in Crime
“She becomes mesmerised by the gold swirl and swish beneath, the glimpse of tail, hypnotic allure of dreamy movement and then the shape of an idea emerges from the depths, leading to her next step.” From the poem “Visceral” based on the character developed by Dorothy Porter in The Monkey’s Mask
Launch details
Saturday 15th April, 4pm
The Athenaeum Library, Level 1/188 Collins St, Melbourne
Refreshments provided
Free but booking essential as numbers limited
Phone 03 9650 3100