{"product_id":"a-time-in-xanadu-lars-gustafsson-9781556592751","title":"A Time in Xanadu","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Lars Gustafsson has an uncompromising vision of the utter complexity of modern life.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Gustafsson's \u003ci\u003eA Time in Xanadu\u003c\/i\u003e, his third translated collection of poems, manages to be personal and quirky while also deeply philosophical.\" --\u003ci\u003eForeWord\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"\u003c\/i\u003eFew poets today can so easily without overwriting bridge 'centuries and minutes, ' to use the title of one of Gustafson's poems.\"--\u003ci\u003eHarvard Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the moment it begins, Lars Gustafsson's \u003ci\u003eA Time in Xanadu\u003c\/i\u003e throws open questions of geography and narration. Where are we? How do we know? Throughout the book, the speaker's voice proves a powerful one as it muses on questions of travel, war, philosophy, and thought itself. The language of Gustafsson's poems is sparse, and his lines are compact and taut. But beneath the neat surfaces of these poems lie surreal and sometimes eerie landscapes: a castle in Cremona, Italy; \"those white, strangely meaningless \/ days between Christmas and New Year;\" a library which is \"a kind of subway.\" There are strains of Ezra Pound in this work, and allusions to great continental thinkers--Goethe, Fichte, Nietzsche, Einstein--drift across it. Yet tracing those allusions to their source is neither desirable nor, ultimately, possible. For in the wake of Gustafsson's highly evocative poems, we can only wonder just how much time we have spent, or lost, in Xanadu, or where we went from there.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Khan leaves Xanadu and milk\u003cbr\u003efrom white goats only\u003cbr\u003eis hurled high into the air on his departure\u003cbr\u003eto nourish the spirits of the air.\u003cbr\u003eSo says Marco Polo, \u003cbr\u003eour Venetian witness.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLars Gustafsson\u003c\/b\u003e is a renowned Swedish poet, novelist, and philosopher who has written dozens of books. He taught philosophy for many years at the University of Texas, Austin. He now lives in Sweden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Lars Gustafsson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1556592752\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781556592751\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Copper Canyon Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 96\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.37lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.92h x 6.11w x 0.31d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/19\/2009","brand":"Lars Gustafsson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43985129505023,"sku":"9781556592751","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_bda0c265-d8bb-4726-9800-46fab78327bf.jpg?v=1683275719","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/a-time-in-xanadu-lars-gustafsson-9781556592751","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}