Eunoia: The Upgraded Edition - Softcover

Boek, Christian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1552452255 ISBN 13: 9781552452257

Publisher: Coach House Books, 2009

Synopsis

The word 'eunoia,' which literally means 'beautiful thinking,' is the shortest word in English that contains all five vowels. Directly inspired by the Oulipo (l'Ouvroir de Litterature Potentielle), a French writers' group interested in experimenting with different forms of literary constraint, Eunoia is a five-chapter book in which each chapter is a univocal lipogram the first chapter has A as its only vowel, the second chapter E, etc. Each vowel takes on a distinct personality: the I is egotistical and romantic, the O jocular and obscene, the E elegiac and epic (including a retelling of the Iliad!). Stunning in its implications and masterful in its execution, Eunoia has developed a cult following, garnering extensive praise and winning the Griffin Poetry Prize. The original edition was never released in the U.S., but it has already been a bestseller in Canada and the U.K. (published by Canongate Books), where it was listed as one of the Times' top ten books of 2008. This edition features several new but related poems by Christian Boek and an expanded afterword.

About this title

Review

'"Eunoia" is a novel that will drive everybody sane.' Samuel Delany, author of "The Einstein Intersection"
'A marvellous, musical texture of rhymes and echoes.' Harry Mathews, author of "The New Tourism" and "My Life in the CIA"
'An exemplary monument for 21st century poetry.' Charles Bernstein, author of "Attack of the Difficult Poems" and "Girly Man"
'Bok's dazzling word games are the literary sensation of the year.' The " Times"
'A resounding success ... brilliant.' The "Guardian"
'Brilliant ... beautiful and strange.' Today Programme, BBC Radio 4
'Impressive.' "Sunday Telegraph"
'No mere Christmas stocking filler for Countdown fans. Rather, it's an ingenious little novel ... playful and irreverent ... charming.' "Metro"
"
'Eunoia is a novel that will drive everybody sane.' - Samuel Delany, author of The Einstein Intersection

'A marvellous, musical texture of rhymes and echoes.' - Harry Mathews, author of The New Tourism and My Life in the CIA

'An exemplary monument for 21st century poetry.' - Charles Bernstein, author of Attack of the Difficult Poems and Girly Man

'Bok's dazzling word games are the literary sensation of the year.' - The Times

'A resounding success ... brilliant.' - The Guardian

'Brilliant ... beautiful and strange.' - Today Programme, BBC Radio 4

'Impressive.' - Sunday Telegraph

'No mere Christmas stocking filler for Countdown fans. Rather, it's an ingenious little novel ... playful and irreverent ... charming.' - Metro
'Eunoia is a novel that will drive everybody sane.' - Samuel Delany, author of The Einstein Intersection

'A marvellous, musical texture of rhymes and echoes.' - Harry Mathews, author of The New Tourism and My Life in the CIA

'An exemplary monument for 21st century poetry.' - Charles Bernstein, author of Attack of the Difficult Poems and Girly Man

'Bok's dazzling word games are the literary sensation of the year.' - The Times

'A resounding success ... brilliant.' - The Guardian

'Brilliant ... beautiful and strange.' - Today Programme, BBC Radio 4

'Impressive.' - Sunday Telegraph

'No mere Christmas stocking filler for Countdown fans. Rather, it's an ingenious little novel ... playful and irreverent ... charming.' - Metro

Book Description

A wonderful gift book for word freaks, scrabble nuts, and crossword fans everywhere...

About this edition

• Publisher: Coach House Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1552452255
• ISBN 13: 9781552452257
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 120