
Summary
The new book from the greatest living British poet
WINNER OF THE LONDON HELLENIC PRIZE 2019
“Alice Oswald is at the height of her powers in… this electrifying new work” - Observer
This is a book-length poem – a collage of water-stories, taken mostly from the Odyssey – about a minor character, abandoned on a stony island. It is not a translation, though, but a close inspection of the sea that surrounds him. There are several voices in …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781787331969 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1787331962 |
| Author: | Alice Oswald |
| Publisher: | Vintage Publishing |
| Imprint: | Jonathan Cape |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 88 |
| Release Date: | 5 September 2019 |
| Weight: | 102g |
| Dimensions: | 198mm x 129mm x 12mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
Alice Oswald is at the height of her powers in … this electrifying new work … It is out of this world - and in it. It is mythical and realistic, ancient and modern.
Alice Oswald is at the height of her powers in…this electrifying new work… It is out of this world – and in it. It is mythical and realistic, ancient and modern. * Observer, Poetry Book of the Month *
Sometimes the rush of unexpected language is thrilling… It is a wonderfully skilful tarantella of syllables and images… Nobody is Oswald’s most formally freehand work, a fragmentary gathering of murmurings searching for the excitement of new meaning. – Jeremy Noel-Todd * Sunday Times *
[Oswald is] a revolutionary, an eco-poet whose ideas are alive with sensory experience. Her new book, Nobody, is a kind of verse novel which refuses even the conventions of storytelling. * Guardian *
[Nobody] is a paean to water, to the fluidity of language and the porousness between beings and stories… Both form and language echo the ceaseless drift, flitting movement and translucence of their uncontainable body…and, as with any memorable trip, the effects of reading Nobody linger in and around the mind long after the experience has passed. * Financial Times *
The text (and characters) ebb and flow as mesmerically as the sea, a fluid abstraction that speaks to the power of the ocean. * i *
Quiet, woozy, immersive…Nobody…[is] marvellous. * Daily Telegraph *
Seldom has the idea of being adrift been so feelingly realised. – Michael Glover * Tablet *
An invigorating book-length poem. – Sara Wheeler * Spectator, Best books of 2019 *
About The Author
Alice Oswald
Alice Oswald lives in Devon and has published several poetry collections, including Dart - a long poem about a river - and Memorial, a version of Homer’s Iliad. She has been awarded the T.S Eliot Prize, Forward Poetry Prize, Griffin Poetry Prize and Costa Poetry Award. She was Oxford professor of Poetry between 2019 and 2024.
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