Reach without Grasping

Ruprecht examines in impressive scholarly depth the classical influences on Anne Carson (b. 1950), anti-genre poet/ philosopher/dramatist/translator, who traded her early position as a classics professor for a position as writer/artist in residence…. Ruprecht convincingly insists that for Carson there is no separation between Christian and classical themes and that in all her work, reach is emphasized over grasp—desire over sex. She is transgressive just as Socrates and Jesus were transgressive—upending expectations and creating new genres. Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty.

* Choice Reviews *

Nimbly straddling the fields of Classics, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, Louis Ruprecht takes on the multi-faceted, genre-bending work of Anne Carson. With an eye focused on her images and an ear attuned to her language, Ruprecht explores Carson's poetry, translations, and essays, demonstrating how her meditations on the classical world are relevant for us today.

-- Gregory Jusdanis, The Ohio State University

In the spirit of Carson's own genre-bending work, Ruprecht artfully threads the ancient and modern, the literary, philosophical, and religious, to introduce Carson and her work to a wide audience. A study in eros, Ruprecht's book paints a portrait of Carson as a philosopher, poet, and (perhaps) mystic, for whom embodied desire manifests most fully in the space between words and the worlds they create.

-- Wesley N. Barker, Mercer Univer