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romapancake's review
5.0
This book explained to me, finally, both everything that I love and everything that has always frustrated and confused me about poetry.
abetterjulie's review
3.0
There were some great sentences in this book. There was a lot of poet history and history of the poem, both of which I found interesting, although some of it was repetitious. I liked the long drawn out tension and procrastination that eventually took Paul through his character development and the story's resolution. Having said all of that, it was less witty and somewhat boring in the middle. It is a slim book, but it could have been much slimmer...and maybe that was the the "cute" twist...that he was writing the anthology all along. I would rather have read it after the editor cut it down.
jadorelire's review
3.0
If you love poetry you will love this book, in which the narrator is experiencing writer's block and unable to get his intro written that he owes for the poetry anthology he's compiled. Instead of writing the intro he spends time bemoaning the fact his girlfriend, frustrated at his procrastination, has moved out, and getting distracted by anything and everything else that he can find. In the meantime, he gives us a great overview of the rhythm of poetry, insights into various poets, and more. The writing is beautiful though, to be honest, I got a little bored toward the end (in part because I don't read poetry often so all the emphasis on poets/poetry got to be a little much), hence the 3-star rating despite a very interesting first half and great writing throughout.
emscji's review
5.0
10/24/09: Popular fiction for literature nerds--The Anthologist is hilarious! The narrator is a poet named Paul Chowder who is supposed to be writing an introduction to an anthology of poetry, but he can't seem to do it. Instead,he tells us everything he does--from sitting in a white plastic chair in his driveway, to cleaning out his office, to pining over his girlfriend, who moved out after growing impatient with him, to explaining to the reader everything he knows about poetry, expounding his opinions and defending his stances. His voice is pitch-perfect, and his fantasies of the exchanges he would have with dead poets (at the laundromat!) made me laugh out loud. Iambic pentameter comes under some serious scrutiny...as do the work and love habits of a wide range of poets...can you tell this book is not for everyone? But it's an easy read, and funny, and Chowder sure knows how to write, even if he is blocked!
rachelkc's review
3.0
The narrator of this quick read is a sometimes poet currently trying to write the introduction to an anthology of poetry he has collected. Unfortunately, he's distracted by his girlfriend leaving, his laundry, his finances, the birds outside, and pretty much everything else in his small world. He does take time to teach us things about poetry, and if he gathered together all of his ramblings, he'd have a fine introduction--he'd just have to leave out all the self-deprecating pieces.
Poetry lovers will appreciate the language, the history lessons, and the narrator's own appreciation of the art. Non-poetry lovers will appreciate the story of a man trying to keep his life on track while it seems everything flounders.
Poetry lovers will appreciate the language, the history lessons, and the narrator's own appreciation of the art. Non-poetry lovers will appreciate the story of a man trying to keep his life on track while it seems everything flounders.
judidec's review
4.0
This was a strange book but I enjoyed it. Lots of interesting tidbits about poetry and poets (many sad things about poets) and rhyming structures and lit gossip. Fun times. Set in Portsmouth, NH over a couple of weeks at the narrator tries to complete an introduction to a poetry anthology. He is a bit of a sad sack, but also amusing in a wacky professor sort of way.
savaging's review
3.0
This book had the feel of Saul Bellows' [b:Herzog|6551|Herzog|Saul Bellow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924221s/6551.jpg|2088454]. A narrator who is a privileged white dude -- and knows it. His job is to write things that others will want to read, but they're thinking secretly that anyone who wants to read what he has to say is thereby wrong. There's someone else, living a real life, you should be reading. Or put away reading all together and do something. This is a book born out of a loss of faith in books. And yet-- and yet-- even if it's all a waste of time-- even if it's all nonsense-- I mean look here, at this line:
"God I wish I was a canoe. Either that or some kind of tree tumor that could be made into a zebra bowl but isn’t because I’m still on the tree."
And, apologetically, Paul Chowder has ideas. Good ideas, even if they're only about the rhythm of poetry. But seriously, you'll never look at iambic pentameter the same, and you'll want to read more W.S. Merwin and Mary Oliver and figure out who Sarah Teasdale and Louise Bogan are. Maybe I shouldn't care about all of this? Baker doesn't offer any justification for it, he only puts the poetry out there, bashfully, and we keep responding in spite of ourselves.
"God I wish I was a canoe. Either that or some kind of tree tumor that could be made into a zebra bowl but isn’t because I’m still on the tree."
And, apologetically, Paul Chowder has ideas. Good ideas, even if they're only about the rhythm of poetry. But seriously, you'll never look at iambic pentameter the same, and you'll want to read more W.S. Merwin and Mary Oliver and figure out who Sarah Teasdale and Louise Bogan are. Maybe I shouldn't care about all of this? Baker doesn't offer any justification for it, he only puts the poetry out there, bashfully, and we keep responding in spite of ourselves.
allierice's review
I really wanted to enjoy this book. His writing style is relateable, clever and smart, and his observations are insightful without being self-conscious. I liked his little lessons about the constructs of poetry and how they are misunderstood or misused. And yet, I couldn't even bring myself to finish this book. Maybe it's because Paul Chowder is a procrastinator in the extreme and it started to grate on me. The harsh truth: I didn't have to get very far into the book to understand why his girlfriend moved out. The entire book is one giant aside.
In many of my favorite books, the narrator takes various meandering journeys to discuss various details or observations or bits of trivia, and then he or she returns to the plot. In this book, I never felt that return; perhaps that's because the plot itself is a representation of Chowder's constantly distracted mind.
In many of my favorite books, the narrator takes various meandering journeys to discuss various details or observations or bits of trivia, and then he or she returns to the plot. In this book, I never felt that return; perhaps that's because the plot itself is a representation of Chowder's constantly distracted mind.
rbiddy's review
5.0
I finished this last night and I already miss the voice of the narrator. I also feel like I learned quite a bit about poetry and got inspired to read some more. But where was Frank O'Hara? Only mentioned once in passing. Suggested by Jess.