Ciaran Carson and the Equilibrium of Language(s)

Abstract

This article makes a parallel between Ciaran Carson’s bilingualism and his search for linguistic equilibrium in his work. It suggests that this elusive search is influenced by Walter Benjamin and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Four works are examined: the poetry collections The Alexandrine Plan, In the Light Of, and From Elsewhere and the novel Exchange Place. Each of these volumes is influenced by a creative impulse that, it argues, stems from a desire for balance in language. The article examines the translational process of Carson in his translations of a variety of French poets (Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Follain); it highlights different methods employed by Carson at various stages of his career, including versions, straight translations, and transcreation. It details the intertextuality at play in the novel Exchange Place. In conclusion, it contends that at the heart of Carson’s oeuvre is the desire to invent a private language, freed from the linguistic constraints associated with national languages.