To Patricia Craig’s illuminating and affectionate obituary of Ciaran Carson (31 October), I’d only add a tribute to For All We Know, his sequence of 70 unrhymed elegiac sonnets published in 2008. Embedded in Belfast and the Troubles, and in the post-Wall uncertainties of eastern Germany, this story of a love affair threads its way through memory and grief. It’s alive with detail; haunted by a complex past; and written in 14-syllable lines, so supple you never notice the technique. What a poet!
Christine Webb
Burnham, Buckinghamshire
• Please will somebody point out to Donald Trump, who believes that he is the subject of “the greatest witch-hunt in American history” (House vote takes Trump a step closer to impeachment, 1 November), that 14 women and five men were hanged in Salem in 1692-93 (and Giles Corey was crushed to death after he refused to enter a plea).
Ian Ferguson
Thornton Dale, North Yorkshire
