{"product_id":"the-mirrormaker-poems-9781571314840","title":"The Mirrormaker: Poems","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Mirrormaker\u003c\/em\u003e, songwriter and poet Brian Laidlaw melds myths ancient and contemporary among the raspberries, wolves, and taconite mines of Minnesota's Iron Range.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA companion volume to Laidlaw's 2015 project, \u003cem\u003eThe Stuntman\u003c\/em\u003e, this collection fuses the stories of two fabled couples: the mythical Narcissus and Echo, and Bob Dylan and Echo Star Helstrom, subject of the song \"Girl from the North Country.\" But where \u003cem\u003eThe Stuntman\u003c\/em\u003e focused on Narcissus, \u003cem\u003eThe Mirrormaker\u003c\/em\u003e takes its primary inspiration from Echo, drawing on ecocritical readings of American history and interrogating the masculine logic of resource extraction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn these poems, Laidlaw explores themes of history and celebrity, love and longing, myth and meaning, in a landscape both ravaged and redemptive. He pits romantic obsession against self-obsession--\"The first time I saw the moon \/ I thought it was my idea\"--and asks whether a meaningful distinction can ever be drawn between the two. These themes are explored further in a companion song suite, written by Laidlaw and recorded with a longtime collaborator from the Iron Range, that accompanies this book via download.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSharp, searching, and ecstatically musical, \u003cem\u003eThe Mirrormaker\u003c\/em\u003e is a genre-expanding exploration of boom and bust--in mining economies and in young love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLaidlaw, Brian:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eBrian Laidlaw\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Stuntman\u003c\/i\u003e. Widely published in journals and anthologies, he has had poems in \u003ci\u003eNew American Writing\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIowa Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFIELD\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Arcadia Project: North American Postmodern Pastoral\u003c\/i\u003e; lyrics in \u003ci\u003eAmerican Songwriter\u003c\/i\u003e magazine; and a songwriting credit on the Grammy Award-winning album \u003ci\u003eCan You Canoe?\u003c\/i\u003e by the Okee Dokee Brothers. An accomplished musician, he has toured widely in the United States and Europe, and his most recent album is \u003ci\u003eAmoratorium\u003c\/i\u003e from Paper Darts Press. A graduate of the University of Minnesota's MFA program in poetry, Laidlaw has taught songwriting at McNally Smith College of Music and is now pursuing a PhD in creative writing at the University of Denver.","brand":"Milkweed Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50420283638034,"sku":"9781571314840","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_508260de-79c4-4e04-9143-bc2284af8afe.jpg?v=1729493154","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-mirrormaker-poems-9781571314840","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}