In Search of the World's Worst Writers [Paperback]

Nick Page (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

This volume is a celebration of bad writing - a journey into the lives of writers so wonderfully awful, they have unwittingly arrived at genius from the other direction. From Canada comes James McIntyre the famous cheese poet, while the Duchess of Newcastle was, in the author's words, "that rare gem, a truly bad writer". When Solyman Brown turned to poetry he obviously heeded the advice given to most authors to "write about what you know". Unfortunately, in Solyman's case, this meant teeth as he was the owner of a dental supply store.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This is a celebration of bad writing: a journey into the lives of writers so exquisitely awful, they have unwittingly arrived at genius from the other direction. Among those honored: Solymon Brown and his epic poem of dental hygiene; Samuel Wesley, whose odes include "On a Cow's Tail" and "A Supper of Stinking Ducks"; and Julia A. Moore, America's greatest bad poet, who so memorably observed: "Literary is a work very difficult to do." Like the writings of their more illustrious colleagues, these works of excruciating genius are entertaining, memorable, even tear-inducing. Just for all the wrong reasons. Nick Page is the author of The Tabloid Bible, The Tabloid Shakespeare, and The Dead Sea Files.

About the Author

Nick Page is a professional writer and performer. He has previously had successes with KEEP IT SIMPLE, THE TABLOID BIBLE, TABLOID SHAKESPEARE and THE DEAD SEA FILES.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000274094X
• ISBN-13: 978-0002740944
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #561,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A roundup of amusingly bad poetry and prose, June 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: In Search of the World's Worst Writers (Paperback)

So who's the worst poet or novelist ever? Give up? If you really want to know, grab this book, where Nick Page suggests many outstanding candidates notable for their bizarre subjects, excruciating rhymes, or outright lunacy. Some examples: Nancy Luce, the Chicken poet of New England; Francis Saltus Saltus ("Sad, on Broadway next afternoon,/I strolled in listless manner,/Humming her most detested tune,/And smoking a Havana."); and, my personal favorite, James McIntyre, the great Canadian cheese poet ("Who hath prophetic vision sees/In future times a ten ton cheese").

In all, there are 41 writers profiled here, each with a few pages of biographical notes ("Dentists are frightening enough, but dentists who write poetry are utterly terrifying"), choice samples of the writer's work ("Whene'er along the ivory disks are seen,/The filthy footsteps of the dark gangrene;/...Brook no delay, ye trembling, suffering fair,/But fly for refuge to the dentist's chair."), and samples of how the work was received ("reading it is the poetic equivalent of root canal work without anaesthetic"). Most of the book is more amusing than laugh-out-loud funny, but it's a pleasantly diverting read, and particularly fun if you read it with a friend, taking turns reading the good (bad?) bits aloud to each other.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh out loud (and READ out loud) funny!, February 24, 2002

By 

Gwen Kramer "gwenhwyvar" (Sunny and not-so-sunny California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Search of the World's Worst Writers (Paperback)

I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one. To laugh at bad movies has been in vogue since Mystery Science Theater. To laugh at bad music is a national past time. But to laugh at bad books... now THAT is a true appreciation of mediocrity. I have been a fan of putrid fiction since I chanced upon a yellowed 50s pulp western and spent the whole afternoon giggling over it. I have taken on universally heckled (and long-winded) gothic novelist Anne Radcliffe. Nick Page has managed to take the quest for the worst writer to a new level.

Yes, he finds who the worst writer is and I could not agree with him more. There is simply no way anyone could argue with him. (except for the author who maintained that all those nasty critics were just jealous!) But who can deny the following words from one of the author's two novels:

"...son of my strength, idolized remnant of my inert husband, who at this moment invisibly offers the scourging whip of fatherly authority to your backbone of resentment..."

And this is one of the better passages. But don't worry, there are other authors listed who are almost (though never quite) as bad. You have Margaret Cavendish Duchess of Newcastle whose poetry was all about some kind of macabre food, whose novels were hyper sci-fi trips, whose plays were so boring she actually put a warning in front of them! Or Pedro Carolino, who was going to write a Portuegese/English phrase book and wasn't about to allow the little fact that he did not actually speak english stop him! (He used a portuegese/french and then a french/english dictionary to translate everything. It shows.)

Useful English phrase:

He has spit in my coat

The author's asides are almost as funny as the quotations themselves. He always has something witty to say about the sometimes unreadable quotations. In fact, some of the best passages come from the Rules of Bad Writing. (Heart is more important than Art) And for anyone who just wanst to sample, all authors are organized into sub-categories. (Strange Subjects, Confused Syntax, Four stars or better)

Enjoy... I think.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's all here, March 15, 2002

By 

kennedy19 "kennedy19" (wakefield, ma USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Search of the World's Worst Writers (Paperback)

A considerable amount of research has gone into this excellent volume, which covers writers from the 1600s to the early 20th century. There have been many volumes of bad verse before (though few as thorough), but Nick Page has also generously included a few excerpts from bad playwrights and novelists as well. He also comments amusingly on many of the entries. The bottom line is, there isn't a page in here that won't make you grin or even laugh aloud. I think my favorite discovery herein is a man who tried to write a phrasebook of English for those learning the language, whereas he himself couldn't even speak it! Anyone with an interest in written English will not want to miss the outstandingly bad poetry and prose in this impressive collection. (Those who are fond of bad verse may also want to try to find a used copy of "Pegasus Descending," an anthology from the early seventies edited by James Camp and others. That volume is notable for its inclusion of clunkers by otherwise great poets such as Emily Dickinson.)