Last Night's Fun: A Book about Irish Traditional Music
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"In this collection of 31 interconnected essays, poet and musician Carson {explores} . . . Irish folk music's culture and ritual." (Libr J) Patricia Craig There is a traditional Irish tune called Last Night's Fun, and this is a book about Irish traditional music. However, in the assured hands of CiaranCarson, poet and flute-player, the narrative eases and teases its way into all kinds of nerve centres, sidetracks and fluent disquisitions. What we get isa series of musings, not only on music but on innumerable fragments and figments retrieved from the past: anecdotes from musicians and singers, the dereliction on Arranmore island, the Irish fried egg, the manufacture of poitin, many mornings after the night before. One thing exuberantly leads to another. . .. There are 31 short chapters, each one named for a reel or jig or song ('It Goes As Follies', 'The Dead Man's Breeches', 'The Ould Orange Flute')--a structure that accommodates snippets of autobiography, along with abundant learning and lore. -- New Statesman
