{"product_id":"crisis-actor-paperback-1","title":"Crisis Actor: Poems - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDeclan Ryan\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe brilliant and bracing debut collection of poetry from Declan Ryan: a writer, critic, and fierce new literary voice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDeclan Ryan's \u003ci\u003eCrisis Actor \u003c\/i\u003echronicles various kinds of failures and farewells. It is peopled by faded heroes and deferential devotees, a hanged donkey and a bloated rat, solitary bachelors and disillusioned youths--these are the watchers, not the players. The poems are awash in rueful self-accusation and laconic skepticism. There are touching elegies, reportage, and bruised, wary replayings. A blistering sequence about boxers and their fates weaves through the collection. The overwhelming sense is of life going on elsewhere, the halcyon days and brightness of years long past. This is the aftermath of being one who--in Matthew Arnold's words--\"has reached his utmost limits and finds . . . himself far less than he had imagined himself.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut there are still flashes of camaraderie, of stars aligning: lunchtimes in sunlit garden squares, languorous afternoons in pubs cheering for hard-won triumphs. These precious, precarious moments point to how we might reclaim potential, discover human connection in times of defeat or despair, and reach toward grace and redemption.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDeclan Ryan\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Mayo, Ireland. His essays and reviews have appeared in many journals, including \u003ci\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Baffler\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePoetry\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBoxing News. \u003c\/i\u003eHe lives in London, England.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 80\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.21 x 8.25 x 5.38 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 25, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42403220095111,"sku":"9780374615994","price":17.28,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/2ee5acc34838e50f24b50077cedfcdd3_c84da1d8-32bf-452d-847e-cfa5fb8ae13d.webp?v=1741421119","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/crisis-actor-paperback-1","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}