Maggot by Paul Muldoon

1)      What do you think were the main recurring themes in this collection? How does the poet handled these themes?

2)      This book has been described in reviews as “rich and grim” with poems “like fairground rides.” Do you think that these are accurate analogies? In what ways are the poems rich or grim?

3)      Muldoon lives in America – can you see the influence of American culture in this collection? Can you discern the influence of his Irish background in his writing?

4)      Did you notice the use of particular forms or sound patterns, rhyme schemes? How do these patterns affect your reading of the poems?

5)      Could you see any patterns and connections between the poems in the collection?

6)      This book has been described as “an experimental bestiary” (Laura Marsh) – how did animals feature in the collection?

7)      Maggot is punctuated by longer sequence poems. These poems are less concrete and more abstract than some of the other poems in the collection – were these poems accessible to the reader? Did you connect with these poems?

8)      Some of the poems in the collection have direct or indirect references to cancer – how do you feel Muldoon handles this subject? How does it compare to other poet’s handling of the subject (i.e. Jo Shapcott’s Of Mutability)?

9)      What was your favourite/least favourite poem in the collection? Why?

10)  In her review for Voyager Sarah Bennett refers to the frequency of casual sexual references throughout the collection – did you notice these references? Did they bother you?

11)  Did you feel like you had to do “research” to fully understand all the references? Did this add to or detract from your reading experience? Did you feel that the collection would have benefitted from a glossary?

12)  It has been said that “the philosophical meaning” of these poems “may be hard for the casual reader to discern.” (Lesley McDowell, The Independent) Would you agree/disagree with this statement?

13)  Muldoon has been described as “an allusive and riddling poet” and some of the poems in this collection have an almost Lear like quality to their language – do you think meaning is sacrificed for the quality of sound? Does this matter?