Paul Muldoon, The Annals of Chile

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In the last poem of Paul Muldoon’s “January journal” of 1992 (published as

The Prince of the Quotidian

two years later), a cigarette-smoking, horse-headed familiar challenges the poet from the flower-beds into which he has just parachuted:

he slaps my cheek; “Above all else, you must atonefor everything you’ve said and doneagainst your mother: meet excess of lovewith excess of love; begin on the feast of Saint Brigid.”

he slaps my cheek; “Above all else, you must atonefor everything you’ve said and doneagainst your mother: meet excess of lovewith excess of love; begin on the feast of Saint Brigid.”

Muldoon’s mother had always featured as an antagonistic presence within the poet’s work (see “The Mixed Marriage” in Mules, for instance, or “Profumo” in

3154 words

Citation: Phillips, Ivan. "The Annals of Chile". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1605, accessed 29 March 2024.]

1605 The Annals of Chile 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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