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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.
About The Author
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 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.
