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Book Review of The Throne of Labdacus

The Throne of Labdacus
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Grand and imposing, Schnackenberg's poems storm through civilization, paying homage to art's greatest figures in language that is formal, articulate, and cool and glittering as a knife. This year, she coupled a fine selected works with a new book-length poem about Oedipus that plunges back into Greek myth, ultimately investigating the tension between art and life.
Library Journal, Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


"Rich, even ornate at times, Schnackenberg's poetry carries its weight as if it were no weight at all, partly by its thematic intensity and partly by the sheer beauty of its imagery."--Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Schnackenberg stands out among younger American poets for her ambition, in the best sense of the word. Her verse is strong, dense, and musical. . . . Behind it are formidable masters, Robert Lowell most notably, but also Yeats and Auden. . . . [Hers] is a very rare achievement in contemporary poetry."--Adam Kirsch, The New York Times

"A profound meditation on the mysteries of feeling and language from a passionate, brilliant poet--Phoebe Pettingell, The New Leader