19:00, Thu 17th – Sat 19th February 2022 at Heong Gallery, Downing College
Lent Week 4

‘The Glass Essay’ is the most celebrated poem of Anne Carson’s 1995 collection entitled
Glass, Irony, and God. This long-form lyric follows the speaker’s journey home to visit her
mother, following a recent heartbreak. As the poem progresses, these biographical details
give way to a world of poetic imagining: as criticism on the writings of Emily Brontë mingles
with visions of the divine, Carson’s voice encompasses the wry, the vulnerable, and the
dazzlingly revelatory. By special permission, Fireside Theatre will adapt ‘The Glass Essay’ as a
monologue piece for a solo performer, staged in the stunning Heong Gallery.