Red Doc> is a book by classicist and poet Anne Carson, which combines poetry, prose, and drama. Published in 2013, it resumes the story of her 1998 verse novel Autobiography of Red.
Author | Anne Carson |
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Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 2013 |
Awards | Griffin Poetry Prize |
Preceded by | Autobiography of Red |
The characters of both poems are modern re-imaginings of the Greek mythological figures Geryon and Herakles, as described in Stesichoros' poem Geryoneis. Stesichoros' poem retells the tenth labour of Herakles, in which Herakles kills the monster Geryon, a winged red being, in order to steal his cattle. In Autobiography of Red, Geryon was a teenage boy, artistic and gay, in love with the popular and charming Herakles. Red Doc> resumes their story as adults. Geryon is now known as G, and Herakles is referred to in the poem as Sad But Great after his return from war with PTSD. G and Sad go on a road trip with an artist named Ida to make their way to visit G's dying mother.[1]
Red Doc> was reviewed by Katryn Schulz as "greater than... the sum of its parts," successfully bringing together disparate elements:
Red Doc> was awarded the 2014 Griffin Poetry Prize.[3]