''Averno'' is
Louise Glück
Louise Elisabeth Glück ( ; born April 22, 1943) is an American poet and essayist. She won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, whose judges praised "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal". He ...
's tenth collection of poetry published in 2006 by
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...
. It was a National Book Award Finalist for Poetry that year.
Content
Averno or
Lake Avernus
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Lake Avernus ( it, Lago d'Averno) is a volcanic crater lake located in the Avernus crater in the Campania region of southern Italy, around west of Pozzuoli. It is near the volcanic field known as the Phlegraean Fields (') and comprises ...
is a lake west of Naples that the Romans mythologized as the entrance to the underworld. The Greek myth of
Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
's daughter
Persephone
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...
and her marriage to
Hades
Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
is a recurring topic in the collection, as are the themes of oblivion and death, soul and body, love and isolation.
Some reviewers praised Glück's non-resolution of these tensions.
There are eighteen poems in the collection, and several are extended pieces with distinct, brief sections. The collection is divided into two parts. Each part has five chapters.
''Averno'' has frequently been referred to as a "modern classic" due to its everlasting topics and themes. The ''New York Times'' says "Glück takes up her own challenge, employing it to explore concepts like "mind" and "soul" with a fresh, often acidulous, perspective. She sets out to examine the "rift in the human soul / which was not constructed to belong / entirely to life," and asks how a soul that survives its bodily existence can possibly find solace, knowing that life's myriad delights — "the red berries of the mountain ash" and "the birds' night migrations" — are gone forever."
[The New York Times Book Review]
References
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External links
Full text of ''Averno'' by Louise Glück available at The Floating Library
2006 poetry books
American poetry collections
Farrar, Straus and Giroux books
Ambassador Book Award-winning works