Nicholson Baker is one of our most intelligent writers. Years ago, I reviewed Nicholson’s unusual self-meditation about his obsession with John Updike, “U and I” in the New York Times Sunday Book Review, and then watched as he produced one extraordinary book after the other. “The Mezzanine,” “Vox,” “The Fermata,” and a number of others. In this interview we are talking about “The Anthologist,” about Paul Chowder, a once-in-a-while published kind of writer who is experiencing “writer’s block” over an introduction to an anthology of poetry that he is supposed to write. The result is at once hilarious, profound, entertaining and brilliant, with throw-away insights by Baker that are worth the price of the book itself. Nick is such a modest and charming man that you won’t want to miss our little chat.
