{"product_id":"the-markov-chain-by-ted-pearson","title":"Pearson, Ted: The Markov Chain","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Markov Chain \u003c\/em\u003eby Ted Pearson (Shearsman Books, paperback)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublication Date: April 15, 2017\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublisher Marketing: Poetry. \"When Basil Bunting declared that 'Pens are too light. \/ Take a chisel to write,' I imagine he had in mind the kind of exact and exacting poetry Ted Pearson has been steadily producing for decades. In THE MARKOV CHAIN, Pearson presents a series of eight-line poems, each composed of four exquisitely crafted alexandrines: 'These formal restrictions \/\/ are like benedictions...Constraints lead to freedoms \/\/ exceeding predictions.' Raising the ante, Pearson uses these formal constraints to probe the social constraints contemporary culture imposes on art and life. 'When the People say we, \/\/ they don't mean you and me. \/ The consensus they're seeking \/\/ will set no one free.' This double take on constraints creates an animating tension throughout the book, one in which 'The gist of the lyric \/\/ tells a whole other tale.' Pearson's chiseled poems enact a deep investigation into language that at once revels in and questions its own constraints. Follow at your own pace, but Pearson's ear, as always, won't lead you astray.\"—Paul Naylor\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Open Books: A Poem Emporium","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31337273131031,"sku":"9781848615335","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0004\/6497\/7956\/products\/content_74ac0a4c-2b1d-4d26-ab44-ba8935cbdf42.jpg?v=1586745959","url":"https:\/\/open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com\/products\/the-markov-chain-by-ted-pearson","provider":"Open Books: A Poem Emporium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}