Andalusian Hours: Poems from the Porch of Flannery O'Connor

by Angela O'Donnell

Andalusian Hours: Poems from the Porch of Flannery O’Connor is a collection of 101 sonnets that channel the voice of celebrated fiction writer, Flannery O’Connor. In these poems, poet and scholar Angela Alaimo O’Donnell imagines the rich interior life Flannery lived during the last fourteen years of her life in rural Georgia on her family’s farm named “Andalusia.” Each poem begins with an epigraph taken from O’Connor’s essays, stories, or letters; the poet then plumbs Flannery’s thoughts and the poignant circumstances behind them, welcoming the reader into O’Connor’s private world. Together the poems tell the story of a brilliant young woman who enjoyed a bright and promising childhood, was struck with lupus just as her writing career hit its stride, and was forced to return home and live out her days in exile, far from the literary world she loved. By turns tragic and comic, the poems in Andalusian Hours explore Flannery’s loves and losses, her complex relationship with her mother, her battle with her illness and disability, and her passion for her writing. The poems mark time in keeping with the liturgical hours O’Connor herself honored in her prayer life and in her quasi-monastic devotion to her vocation and to the home she learned to love, Andalusia.
 

Genres: Poetry, Catholic

96 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2020

Reviews

[Jeannine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hesitated buying this book because I'm not a fan of this trend where authors fictionalize the life of a real person. The author explains her approach and reasons eloquently in the forward and is a true admirer of Flannery O'Connor. I am too, and that is why this concept, supposedly written in Flannery's voice (also explained in the forward) didn't work for me. I understand what the author was trying to do, but I prefer original sources for this kind of thing - I want anything in Flannery's voice to be **her** voice (The Habit of Being, her letters for example) and not an imagined voice. This made it difficult to read and enjoy the poetry for itself - I kept stopping to think "Really? That's what Flannery would have said?"

3 stars = did not finish, neutral review of actual content

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book because I have read O’Connor’s stories. I found the sonnets interesting.

[Ryan Laferney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning collection of poetry inspired by Flannery O'Connor's own biography and her own reflections. O'Donnell channels the hidden life of one of America's most beloved authors, who died all too young. This collection is full of startling insight into the life of Flannery O'Connor. It's almost like O'Donnell was of one mind with O'Connor.

Rare and beautiful, witty and sublime, this is an amazing poetry collection.

[Howard Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rated this four stars a year ago. I’ve just read it two more times and I wish I could give it six stars.