Présentation de l'éditeur
The Anthologist, is narrated by Paul Chowder, a poet of some little reknown who is sitting in his barn most of the time trying to write the introduction to a new anthology of poetry called Only Rhyme. He's having a hard time getting started because his career is falling apart, his girlfriend Roz has recently left him, and he is thinking about the poets throughout history who have suffered far worse and actually deserve to feel sorry for themselves. He has also promised his readers that he will reveal many wonderful secrets and tips and tricks about poetry, and it looks like the introduction will be a little longer than he'd thought. What unfolds is a wholly entertaining and beguiling love story about poetry, among other things; Paul tells us about all of the great poets, from Tennyson, Swinburne, and Yeats to the moderns (Roethke, Bogan, Merwin) to the contemporary scene as well as the editorial staff of The New Yorker's editorial department. And what he reveals about the rhythm and music of poetry itself is astonishing and makes you realize how incredibly important poetry is to our lives. At the same time, Paul manages just barely to realize all of this himself and what results is a tender, wonderfully romantic, often hilarious, and inspired novel.
Revue de presse
'His best novel to date…dazzling…You'll laugh, you'll howl, you might even recite' Financial Times * 'A rare example of affectionate art, of brilliant writing that manages to collect and display the odds and ends of existence in a way that makes the reader like it and him' TLS
'…it is one of the most enjoyable books I've read…The voice of the narrator… is exquisitely damaged, funny, warm and pompous - he can make describing the contents of his fridge a joy… Not only that, but this book introduced me to other, real poets - Louise Bogan, Elizabeth Bishop, Lord Tennyson. In fact, it even made me read them'
Joe Dunthorne, Esquire October Issue
Quatrième de couverture
'Nicholson Baker's deliciously offbeat comic story does for poetry what Nick Hornby's High Fidelity did for pop music' New Statesman
Paul Chowder is a once-in-a-while-published kind of poet who is writing the introduction to a new anthology of poetry. He's having a hard time getting started because his career is floundering, his girlfriend Roz, neither a doubter nor a prodder, has recently left him, and he keeps thinking about the great poets throughout history who have suffered far worse than he has. He'd like to unveil the mysteries of metre and rhyme, but he's not sure he's the right man for the job.
What unfolds is a wholly entertaining and beguiling love story about people and poetry: from Tennyson, Swinburne, and Yeats to the moderns (Roethke, Bogan, Merwin) to families, neighbours and the strangers in our lives, what Paul reveals is astonishing and makes one realize how incredibly important poetry can be to all of us. The result is a tenderly romantic, dryly comic, and inspired novel.
'A feast for the senses, mind and soul' Scotland on Sunday
'Hugely diverting' Time Out
'Brilliant' TLS
'A richly enjoyable read' Spectator
'Baker is a beautiful writer' New York Times
'Instructive, quirky, and highly entertaining' The Times
Biographie de l'auteur
Nicholson Baker was born in 1957 and attended the Eastman School of Music and Haverford College. He is the author of several novels, including The Mezzanine, Vox and The Fermata, and House of Holes; and four works of non fiction, U and I, The Size of Thoughts, Double Fold (winner of the 2002 National Book Critics Circle Award), and Human Smoke. He lives in Maine.
