The Sin-eater: A Breviary - Hardcover

Lynch, Thomas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1557258724 ISBN 13: 9781557258724

Publisher: Paraclete Press, 2011

Synopsis

Argyle eased the warm loaf right and left

and downed swift gulps of beer and venial sin

then lit into the bread now leavened with

the corpse’s cardinal mischiefs, then he said

“Six pence, I’m sorry.” And the widow paid him.

 

So opens the unsanctioned priesthood of The Sin-eater: A Breviary—Thomas Lynch’s collection of two dozen, twenty-four line poems—a book of hours in the odd life and times of Argyle, the sin-eater. Celtic and druidic, scapegoat and outlier, a fixture in the funerary landscape of former centuries, Argyle’s doubt-ridden witness seems entirely relevant to our difficult times. His “loaf and bowl,” consumed over corpses, become the elements of sacrament and sacrilege. By turns worshipful and irreverent, good-humored and grim, these poems examine the deeper meanings of Eucharist and grace, forgiveness and faith, atonement and reconciliation. With photographs by Michael Lynch and cover art by Sean Lynch, the author’s sons.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas Lynch’s poems, essays, and stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Poetry and The Paris Review. His book The Undertaking won the American Book Award, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and was made into an Emmy Award-winning PBS Frontline documentary. He lives in Michigan and in Moveen, County Clare, Ireland. Visitwww.thomaslynch.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Paraclete Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1557258724
• ISBN 13: 9781557258724
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 80