“Nox” is an elegy mixed with a scrapbook, memoir, and eulogy in which Anne Carson dedicates to her estranged and passed brother through a series of poetry, definitions of Latin words, and scraps of images. Through the piece, Carson reveals a trail of details that allow the readers to pick up hints of her relationship with her brother. Running away from a jail sentence, Carson’s brother sporadically contacts his family only through five phone calls and one postcard in a span of twenty-two years. Even notification of his death comes two weeks after his passing. Carson takes the reader on an emotional journey through her self-reflection of her memories with and pertaining to her brother, expressing joy, nostalgia, and loss as she attempts to make sense of her emotions.The accordion-like structure of the piece extends Carson’s journey of grief and transforms it into an almost three-dimensional experience for the readers. The structure also dispels the assumption of this piece as well as Carson’s emotions as more than what it appears, more than book and more than simple grief. Throughout the piece, Carson weaves in Latin words and their respective definitions, scrap pieces of notes and letters, and Carson’s own narrative thoughts. Opening up the accordion book reveals a scatter of thoughts that resemble Carson’s own means of translating her grief and disorganized, frazzled memories onto paper. Like Carson says, “We want other people to have a centre, a history, an account that makes sense,” and this is her way to try and make sense of her relationship with and emotions for her brother. There are no flashy exhibitions or strings of prose, but rather simplicity and torn scraps of notes strewn throughout the piece that depict Carson’s stream of consciousness.This piece elicits a series of emotions from the readers as we follow Carson in her journey of deciphering and translating her grief onto paper. “We want to be able to say This is what he did and Here’s why,” and “Nox” is Carson’s attempt at trying to understand everything her brother did and why he did it. As readers, we are invited and even asked to help her try to figure out the mystery of her estranged brother’s past through this experimental writing form and the literature and poetry, resulting in a beautiful and raw piece. In Nox, the words, pictures, memories and stories fall like nighttime, swirling around the pages of this book. Paradoxically heavy and light, overwhelmingly sad but warmly reminiscent, Anne Carson has created a memory book filled with the history of words, ancient peoples, her mother, her brother and his life, as well as herself. Nox Frater Nox; Night Brother Night. The idea of night intertwines with the idea of brother, the two words appearing repeatedly until they braid together, one string sliding over the other until it is difficult to distinguish which is which and where it all began. Throughout all of it, there seems to be the weight of translation, whether it be from Latin to English, actions to understanding, images to feelings, the unsaid to the said… The blank pages seem to translate just as well as the words, replaying memories blanketed in the sadness and celebration of family. It seemed to me that these blank pages spoke the most; they spoke of loss and fondness, and sometimes just looking at the staples or the sliver of a letter or photograph, I could feel night descending in my chest. Carson’s words were not flashy or decorated, but the way they recalled story after story was familiar, like confiding in a best friend or lover. It is hard to tell if she means for Nox to be in her brothers’ memory or for herself, but the pages deal with grief with artistry and it seems as if Carson is fighting to translate her feelings into something understandable. History seems to be the heart of the story; the history of ancient times, the history of words, the history of her mother, her brother, and her. These histories work together, the Latin words making sense of the modern letters and the ancient poetry making sense of Carson’s poetry. As Carson struggles over years to search for the proper translation of Catullus’ Poem 101, it seems she is also struggling to translate her brothers’ history, which she didn’t fully understand when he was alive, and which she wanted to make since of after he was gone. Whether or not she understands now, Nox stands as a history and translation of palpable grief and the fight to make it through the night.
What do You think about Nox (2010)?
Haunting and brilliant. Love this. Will read it many times.
—Mel
