If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the. Ciaran carson, poet, novelist and musician, was born in belfast, northern ireland in 1948. Ciaran carson was born in 1948 and raised in belfast, where he still lives. I forget the precise details, but at a time of strife between the flemish citystates, suspects were asked to pronounce the. Belfast confetti, ciaran carsons third book of poetry, weaves together in. Belfast confetti, ciaran carson s third book of poetry, weaves together in. Sample question belfast confetti ccea gcse english. Belfast confetti was written by the irish poet ciaran carson and published in the collection the irish for no in 1987. He was director of the seamus heaney centre for poetry at queens university, belfast, until his retirement in 2015. Ciaran carson is one of the most challenging and inventive of contemporary irish writers, exhibiting verbal brilliance, formal complexity, and intellectual daring across a remarkably varied body of work. In america, gerry adams was hailed as the sane face of nationalisman irish nelson mandela. He is a musician and has published last nights fun, a book about. Belfast confetti ciaran carson ciaran carson was born in belfast, the capital city of northern ireland, in 1948.
Buy belfast confetti by ciaran carson from waterstones today. He graduated from queens university, belfast, and worked for the arts council of northern ireland until 1998. In the essay intelligence, which ends the middle section of his fourth book of poems, belfast confetti 1989, ciaran carson identifies the city of belfast with. The poem belfast confetti derives its name from the large ship constructing rivets as well as all the other. He graduated from queens university in 1971, and later joined the arts council of northern ireland, specialising in traditional music. Carson was also author of the novel shamrock tea 2001. Belfast confetti suddenly as the riot squad moved in, it was raining exclamation marks, nuts, bolts, nails, carkeys. He is the author of nine collections of poems, including belfast confetti, first language, and breaking news. About time, food and music 1996, a study of irish traditional music. In the poem hairline crack from belfast confetti, the narrator. Ciaran carsons alternative topographies of divided belfast. Ciaran carson s belfast confetti pulls the reader into the aftermath of belfast s sectarian riot.
This study considers the full range of his oeuvre, in poetry, prose, and. Ciaran gerard carson was born in 1948 in belfast and educated at the queens university, belfast. The name of the poem derives from the nickname for the large shipbuilding rivets and other scrap metal that were used as missiles by protestant shipyard workers during anticatholic riots in belfast. Download this entire guide to belfast confetti as a printable pdf. Three audio files intended to aid study and revision of belfast confetti by ciaran carson. Suddenly as the riot squad moved in, it was raining exclamation marks, nuts, bolts, nails, car keys. His subjects include the permeable boundaries of belfast neighborhoods, of memory, of public and private fear, and, indeed, of the forms of language and art. Eliot prize and the forward prize for best poetry collection for breaking news in 2003. Belfast confetti, ciaran carson s third book of poetry, weaves together in a carefully sequenced volume prose pieces, long poems, lyrics, and haiku. Belfast confetti, first language and opera et cetera.
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title belfast confetti. In the poem belfast confetti the temporal aspect of city life is fronted by. His translation of dantes inferno won the oxford weidenfeld translation prize, and he was an honorary member of the. His prose works include last nights fun, a book about irish traditional music. Educated at the queens university, belfast, he was appointed chair of poetry at its seamus heaney centre for poetry in 2003. Belfast confetti by carson, ciaran and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The fair face of flanders by patricia carson excellent, accessible book for the nonspecialist. Belfast confetti a poem by ciaran carson suddenly as the riot squad moved in, it was raining exclamation marks. Irish poetry, ciaran carson, poetics, intertextuality, translation. Ciaran carsons collected poems gathers work from eight collections. Belfast in the poetry and prose of ciaran carson researchgate. About the author ciaran carson was born in belfast in 1948. Belfast confetti by ciaran carson mp3s teaching resources. The poet ciaran carson, who has died aged 70 of cancer, grew up in the catholic falls road area of belfast.
Suddenly as the riot squad moved in, it was raining exclamation marks, nuts, bolts, nails, carkeys. In the poem, an unnamed speaker appears to be caught up in a bomb blast and tries to escape. Ciaran carsond latest book, belfast confetti, is one of the most exciting and innovative collections of northern irish poetry to be. Hiphop star akala explores the poem belfast confetti with its author ciaran carson. He has used punctuation to symbolize missiles that protestants used during this riot, which was against the catholic crowd in belfast. With ciaran carson reading in boston and athens, ga this week, we thought it might be fun to share one of our carson favorites, belfast confetti. The poem won the irish times irish literature prize for poetry. Belfast confetti a poem by ciaran carson the road to. Belfast confetti opens in media resin the midst of the action. A pdf version of this book is available for free in open access via the oapen library platform. If you are studying poetry with ccea your examination will be open book. Ciaran carsons belfast confetti johns hopkins university.
In belfast confetti 1993 carson combines his ability to vividly render everyday life with his evocation of belfasts. He is an accomplished musician as well as a poet and novelist. Interspersed with prose passages reflecting on place, placenames, and the mutability of each, these poems center on the experience of living in a city. Revision notes for belfast confetti by ciaran carson for ccea gcse students. Belfast confetti by ciaran carson abebooks passion for books. Taking its title from a poem in the preceding volume, this book closely identifies the long line with urban geography. Carsons interest in traditional irish music informed last nights fun. Belfast confetti, provided the title for david remnicks 1994 a. As a preface to part one of belfast confetti, ciaran carson quotes a passage from walter benjamins a berlin childhood around the turn of the century. Pdf ciaran carsons poetry is deeply concerned with the city of belfast.
One is a straight forward reading of the poem no sfx, one a reading with sound effects, and one a commentary on th. Belfast confetti read by ciaran carson aqa conflict. His subjects include the permeable boundaries of belfast neighborhoods, of memory, of public and private fear, and, indeed, of. Ciaran carson has established a reputation as one of irelands most important. Belfast confetti, ciaran carsons third book of poetry, weaves together in a carefully sequenced volume prose pieces, long poems, lyrics, and haiku. About music, food and time 1997, a book of prose, and the history of belfast plays in his memoir, the star factory 1998. In the essay intelligence, which ends the middle section of his fourth book of poems, belfast confetti 1989, ciaran carson identifies the city of belfast with the utilitarian philosopher jeremy benthams panopticon, a model reform prison composed of individual cells equally visible from a central tower, which bentham described in a 1791 work of the same name. Belfast confetti gcse english language and english. Ciaran carson is also an accomplished musician, and is the author of last nights fun. Suddenly as the riot squad moved in it was raining exclamation marks, nuts, bolts, nails, carkeys. Belfast and began serving as the traditional arts officer of the arts council of northern ireland. Belfast confetti is a poem about the aftermath of a sectarian riot in belfast, by northern irish poet and translator. Belfast confetti poem summary and analysis litcharts.
Limits of orality and textuality in ciaran carsons. Belfast confetti by ciaran carson poem analysis, gcse. Belfast confetti read by ciaran carson aqa conflict anthology. He went on to transfigure his native city, and transfix his readers, with a rich. From the formal and thematic traditions of his earlierst work, the new estate 1976, the energetic long lines of the irish for no 1987 and belfast confetti 1989, to the formal adroitness of opera et cetera 1996, the alexandrine plan 1998 and the twelfth of never 1998, carson has shown himself to be an.
Ciaran carson lives in north belfast with his wife, deirdre shannon, and their three children. He held the position of traditional arts officer of the arts council of northern ireland from 1975 to 1998 and was appointed director of the seamus heaney centre for poetry. It helps, but is not entirely necessary, to know that belfast confetti was metal detritus from the shipyards. Dresden opens the first part and the book itself, but the opening poem of the second part belfast confetti is perhaps even. He knows intimately not only the urban belfast in which he was raised as a native irish speaker, but also the traditions of rural ireland. Carson is a traditional musician, a scholar of the irish oral traditional, a prosewriter, a translator, as well as a poet. Ciaran carson is a poet and novelist who was born in northern ireland and has always had a deep passion for politics. Complete analysis of belfast confetti by ciaran carson. The family lived in a space about a mile square marked by.