The Anthologist: A Novel

Nicholson Baker

Sep 2009 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Paul Chowder is trying to write the introduction to a new anthology of rhyming verse, but he’s having a hard time getting started. The result of his fitful struggles is The Anthologist, Nicholson Baker’s brilliantly funny and exquisite love story about poetry.

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A New York Times Notable Book, 2009

Favorite Fiction of 2009–Los Angeles Times

Best Books of 2009–The Christian Science Monitor

Best of 2009–Slate.com

"A Year’s Reading" Favorites, 2009–The New Yorker

Best Books of 2009–Seattle Times

Ratings and reviews

I fashion myself a poet. Never made a dime from anything I've written, but have had some poems published & friends & my wife tell me that I've got talent. However, after reading Baker's The Anthologist my confidence has been shattered. His main character (an alter ego), a poet & veritable encyclopedia of poetry knowledge, dissects the nuances, history & intricacies of rhymed & free verse poetry in such a way that my futile attempts & output is rendered irrelevant in comparison. So much for this being an ego building book. Aside from those minor distractions The Anthologist is a wonderfully warm, witty monologue (for the most part) that lacks any real action or plot development. It's really more of an extended character study embedded in a thesis on what constitutes good poetry & who the kooky characters were that created all of these memorable lines English professors like to commit to memory & spout at a moments notice. As for me, I don't even remember the lines I've written, much less anyone elses.

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About the author

Nicholson Baker is the author of nine novels and four works of nonfiction, including Double Fold, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, and House of Holes, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, and The New York Review of Books. He lives in Maine with his family.