The Commonplace Book

A repository for a personal collection of quotations, scraps, pensees, and poems, this compilation offers keen insight into the influences and inspirations of a writer, namely Elizabeth Smither. There are no platitudes or sententious maxims here; instead, these sometimes pensive sometimes screamingly funny quotations range from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy to Elizabeth Bennet, from Charles Simic to Montaigne, and from Monty Python to Henry James. Witty and intriguing, this record also demonstrates the results of the creative process by including Smither’s own work.

Elizabeth Smither is a writer, a poet, and a former journalist. She is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry and the Te Mata Poet Laureateship. Her poetry and short fiction have been widely published in American journals, such as the Antioch Review, the Harvard Review, Ploughshares, and Raven Chronicles. She is the author of more than 25 books, including The Journal Box, A Pattern of Marching, and The Year of Adverbs.