What do you think?
Rate this book
Points for a Compass Rose
In this collection of poems, the author meditates on the follies, cruelties and frailties of humankind adopting an outraged, vehement and sardonic tone as he gazes through his "teleidoscope" - an instrument for viewing the images of the ends of things.
- GenresPoetryNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
6 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Evan S. Connell
42 books154 followersEvan Shelby Connell Jr. (August 17, 1924 – January 10, 2013) was a U.S. novelist, poet, and short-story writer. His writing covered a variety of genres, although he published most frequently in fiction.
In 2009, Connell was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize, for lifetime achievement. On April 23, 2010, he was awarded a Los Angeles Times Book Prize: the Robert Kirsch Award, for "a living author with a substantial connection to the American West, whose contribution to American letters deserves special recognition."
Connell was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the only son of Evan S. Connell, Sr. (1890–1974), a physician, and Ruth Elton Connell. He had a sister Barbara (Mrs. Matthew Zimmermann) to whom he dedicated his novel Mrs. Bridge (1959). He graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City in 1941. He started undergraduate work at Dartmouth College but joined the Navy in 1943 and became a pilot. After the end of World War II, he graduated from the University of Kansas in 1947, with a B.A. in English. He studied creative writing at Columbia University in New York and Stanford University in California. He never married, and lived and worked in Sausalito, California for decades.
(Wikipedia)
In 2009, Connell was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize, for lifetime achievement. On April 23, 2010, he was awarded a Los Angeles Times Book Prize: the Robert Kirsch Award, for "a living author with a substantial connection to the American West, whose contribution to American letters deserves special recognition."
Connell was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the only son of Evan S. Connell, Sr. (1890–1974), a physician, and Ruth Elton Connell. He had a sister Barbara (Mrs. Matthew Zimmermann) to whom he dedicated his novel Mrs. Bridge (1959). He graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City in 1941. He started undergraduate work at Dartmouth College but joined the Navy in 1943 and became a pilot. After the end of World War II, he graduated from the University of Kansas in 1947, with a B.A. in English. He studied creative writing at Columbia University in New York and Stanford University in California. He never married, and lived and worked in Sausalito, California for decades.
(Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 19, 2012
Bizarre. Original. Interesting. Impassioned. Somewhat disjointed, somewhat redundant during parts, but definitely took me on a journey through a dark cynical dream-world in which figures from various points in human history repeat themselves, quite eerily. A focus on human nature is definitely prominent, the overall message being something like, Beware. We are no better off than we have ever been as a species.
Plus ça change plus c'est la même chose.
Plus ça change plus c'est la même chose.
February 20, 2020
This is one of my favorite books. I have no idea why I bought it, maybe the cover art? maybe the lengthy, smarty title? Regardless, it is amazing. Impossible for me to describe so I won't make an attempt. Just find it, buy it, and read it. Often.
July 9, 2019
Bewildering and brilliant.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews