{"product_id":"the-mirrormaker-brian-laidlaw-9781571314840","title":"The Mirrormaker: Poems","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Mirrormaker\u003c\/em\u003e, songwriter and poet Brian Laidlaw melds myths ancient and contemporary among the raspberries, wolves, and taconite mines of Minnesota's Iron Range.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA companion volume to Laidlaw's 2015 project, \u003cem\u003eThe Stuntman\u003c\/em\u003e, this collection fuses the stories of two fabled couples: the mythical Narcissus and Echo, and Bob Dylan and Echo Star Helstrom, subject of the song \"Girl from the North Country.\" But where \u003cem\u003eThe Stuntman\u003c\/em\u003e focused on Narcissus, \u003cem\u003eThe Mirrormaker\u003c\/em\u003e takes its primary inspiration from Echo, drawing on ecocritical readings of American history and interrogating the masculine logic of resource extraction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn these poems, Laidlaw explores themes of history and celebrity, love and longing, myth and meaning, in a landscape both ravaged and redemptive. He pits romantic obsession against self-obsession--\"The first time I saw the moon \/ I thought it was my idea\"--and asks whether a meaningful distinction can ever be drawn between the two. These themes are explored further in a companion song suite, written by Laidlaw and recorded with a longtime collaborator from the Iron Range, that accompanies this book via download.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSharp, searching, and ecstatically musical, \u003cem\u003eThe Mirrormaker\u003c\/em\u003e is a genre-expanding exploration of boom and bust--in mining economies and in young love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Brian Laidlaw\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1571314849\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781571314840\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Milkweed Editions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/09\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 96\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 6.70w x 0.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2018 pg. 57\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/17\/2018","brand":"Brian Laidlaw","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43939702997247,"sku":"9781571314840","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_90cfe226-2940-4040-8b33-2f833ce0f280.jpg?v=1681443019","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-mirrormaker-brian-laidlaw-9781571314840","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}