The Eros Variations

Abstract This is the first of two chapters to explore variations on the function and forms of Carson’s academic criticism. The chapter examines variations on Carson’s early reading of desire in the possessive mode in Eros the Bittersweet (1986), tracing its formal and theoretical legacies in the light-footed literary-critical sketch, The Albertine Workout (2014), and “Possessive Used as Drink (Me): A Lecture on Pronouns in the Form of 15 Sonnets” from the performance-oriented pamphlet series, Float (2016). Beginning with her early essay, Carson’s arguments on the question of eros complement or replace exposition with the imitation of an idea in the form, structure, or stylistics of the reading. This short history of the theory of eros in Carson—and of a distinctive approach to interpretive form—shows how the relationship between writing and desire in her early work becomes the framework for a longer-term inquiry into the emotions of reading literature.