Marius Kociejowski Orden de los libros

Marius Kociejowski's portrait of this baffling city is unique.

"A memoir of a life in the antiquarian book trade, A Factotum in the Book Trade is a journey between the shelves--and then behind the counter, into the overstuffed basement, and up the spine-stacked attic stairs of your favourite neighbourhood bookshop. From his childhood in rural Ontario, where at the village jumble sale he bought poetry volumes for their pebbled-leather covers alone, to his all-but-accidental entrance into the trade in London and the career it turned into, poet and travel writer Marius Kociejowski recounts his life among the buyers, sellers, customers, and literary nobility--the characters, fictional and not--who populate these places we all love. Cataloging their passions and pleasures, oddities and obsessions, A Factotum in the Book Trade is a journey through their lives, and a story of the serendipities and collisions of fate, the mundane happenings and indelible encounters, the friendships, feuds, losses, and elations that characterize the business of books--and, inevitably, make up an unforgettable life."-- Provided by publisher

Two decades ago a critic characterized Marius Kociejowski as a poet “whose imagination prowls the geographical boundaries of western culture.” He has a Polish name, was born in Canada, and lives in London where he collects other exiles, listens to their lives and writes them up. God’s Zoo (Carcanet, 2014), Evan Jones describes as “a world journey through London’s exiled and émigré artists, writers, poets and musicians. He likes middle-length forms, less the lyric than the epylion, the epistle, dramatic monologue and eclogue. Music is everywhere, notably Chopin and George Sand: music seems to propose some of the forms he chooses and how he modulates them. “All parts give meaning to the whole,” he says, and proves it again and again. Kociejowski has produced over the last five decades a fine, refined body of work which this book celebrates.

The Street Philosopher and the Holy Fool presents the unexpected face of Syria. Based on five journeys, undertaken over as many years, Kociejowski's book is entirely concerned with the slow journey towards friendship

Set against the backdrop of post 9/11 tensions, the narrative provides a unique perspective on the conflicts and transformations shaping the Middle East. Through the eyes of an outcast, readers explore the complexities of cultural and political upheaval, gaining insight into the region's struggles and resilience in the face of adversity. The book delves into the personal and collective experiences that define this tumultuous era.

A useful companion for those travelling to Syria, this work is part of a series that is a collection of writing, aiming to invest the traveller with a cultural and historical background to Syria.