James Schuyler (1923-1991) was a preeminent figure in the celebrated New York School of poets. He grew up in Washington, D.C., and near Buffalo, New York. After World War II, he made his way to Italy, where he served for a time as W.H. Auden's secretary. His books include two other novels, A Nest of Ninnies(written with John Ashbery) and Alfred and Guinevere (also published by NYRB Classics), as well as numerous volumes of poetry. John Ashbery is the author of twenty books of poetry, including Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (1975), which received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the National Book Award; and Some Trees (1956), which was selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Younger Poets Series. He has also published art criticism, plays, and a novel. Ashbery is currently the Charles P. Stevenson, Jr., Professor of Languages and Literature at Bard College.
"The novel…is quite an extraordinary piece of work, chronicling an
uneasy period in the life of a brother and sister, seven—year—old
Alfred and 11—year—old Guinevere." — Michael
Hofmann, London Review of Books
"A delectable little book…A deft and funny creation of a high
quality somewhere between the terror—haunted humor of Richard
Hughes’ A High Wind in Jamaica and the placid, presumably
unself—conscious amusements of Daisy Ashford’s The Young
Visiters." — Commonweal
"Schuyler, who died in 1991, was a noted poet, however this book is
not written in 'poetic prose'—he employs a simple style, without
imagery or complexities. But every page displays a poet’s
sensibility in the fresh and inventive ways Schuyler has his child
narrators use and misuse language.Alfred and Guinevere is a
small treasure, and its restoration to print is to be
commended." — Phillip Routh, Rain Taxi Review of
Books
"You can hear it now — for, in dialogue form, (except when
Guinevere Gates is writing in her diary) here are the skirmishes,
the misadventures and mishaps, and the troubles that she and her
younger brother Alfred get into in their city
home…" — Kirkus Reviews
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