The Minnow Would Be Lost
‘This could be in any order. Go back.’
Starting on Gilligan's island, with Aristotle clapping the 'fearless crew' 'in front of a live studio audience and from deep within it', Nora Chassler's book-length poem The Minnow Would Be Lost is a deeply imaginative, lyrical and personal journey through the lives of the author (inner, outer and otherwise), from Chicago to New York City, to Edinburgh, Prague, Moscow and beyond, to the edges of reality and the limits of the human experience.
Epic in every sense, this is a no-holds-barred work of literature that scolds, loves and damns its denizens in equal measure. Scathing and appreciative, nihilistic and hopeful, arch and vulnerable, this is the author's most original, ambitious, unforgettable achievement yet – one that ceaselessly communicates with our cultural history at all levels, whilst standing utterly alone amongst it.
“Nora Chassler is the best writer you’ve never heard of.”
Rónán Hession, The Irish Times
‘This could be in any order. Go back.’
Starting on Gilligan's island, with Aristotle clapping the 'fearless crew' 'in front of a live studio audience and from deep within it', Nora Chassler's book-length poem The Minnow Would Be Lost is a deeply imaginative, lyrical and personal journey through the lives of the author (inner, outer and otherwise), from Chicago to New York City, to Edinburgh, Prague, Moscow and beyond, to the edges of reality and the limits of the human experience.
Epic in every sense, this is a no-holds-barred work of literature that scolds, loves and damns its denizens in equal measure. Scathing and appreciative, nihilistic and hopeful, arch and vulnerable, this is the author's most original, ambitious, unforgettable achievement yet – one that ceaselessly communicates with our cultural history at all levels, whilst standing utterly alone amongst it.
“Nora Chassler is the best writer you’ve never heard of.”
Rónán Hession, The Irish Times
‘This could be in any order. Go back.’
Starting on Gilligan's island, with Aristotle clapping the 'fearless crew' 'in front of a live studio audience and from deep within it', Nora Chassler's book-length poem The Minnow Would Be Lost is a deeply imaginative, lyrical and personal journey through the lives of the author (inner, outer and otherwise), from Chicago to New York City, to Edinburgh, Prague, Moscow and beyond, to the edges of reality and the limits of the human experience.
Epic in every sense, this is a no-holds-barred work of literature that scolds, loves and damns its denizens in equal measure. Scathing and appreciative, nihilistic and hopeful, arch and vulnerable, this is the author's most original, ambitious, unforgettable achievement yet – one that ceaselessly communicates with our cultural history at all levels, whilst standing utterly alone amongst it.
“Nora Chassler is the best writer you’ve never heard of.”
Rónán Hession, The Irish Times
About the Author
Nora Chassler was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1972, and grew up in New York City. She is the author of two novels, Miss Thing (Two Ravens Press, 2010) and Grandmother Divided by Monkey Equals Outer Space (Valley Press, 2015), both currently awaiting reissue. Three genre-bending publications have since followed, all with Valley Press – a collection of ‘fragments, pensées and table-talk’ titled Madame Bildungsroman’s Optimistic Worldview (2017), an epic poem, The Minnow Would Be Lost (2020), and the I Ching-inspired The Noracle (2025). She lives on the Scottish coast.
Vital Statistics
Imprint: Valley Press
Edition: First (October 2020)
Paperback ISBN: 9781912436309
Catalogue number: VP0150
Page count: 128
Trim size: 198x129mm
