Wordy

**‘ *Wordy* is about the intoxication of writing; my sense of playful versatility; different voices for different matters: the polemical voice for political columns; the sharp-eyed descriptive take for profiles; poetic precision in grappling with the hard task of translating art into words; lyrical recall for memory pieces. And informing everything a rich sense of the human comedy and the ways it plays through historical time.

It's also a reflection on writers who have been shamelessly gloried in verbal abundance; the performing tumble of language - those who have especially inspired me - Dickens and Melville; Joyce and Marquez.’ ** Simon Schama

**Sir Simon Schama** has been at the forefront of **the arts** , **political commentary** , **social analysis** and **historical study** for over forty years. As a teacher of Art History and an award-winning television presenter of iconic history-based programming, Simon is equally a prolific bestselling writer and award-winning columnist for many of the world’s foremost publishers, broadsheet newspapers, periodicals and magazines.

His commissioned subjects over the years have been numerous and wide ranging – from the music of **Tom Waits** , to the works of **Sir Quentin Blake** ; the history of **the colour blue** , to discussing what skills an actor needs to create a unique performance of **Falstaff**. Schama’s tastes are wide-ranging as they are eloquent, incisive, witty and thought provoking and have entertained and educated the readers of some of the world’s most respected publications - the *Times* , the *Guardian* , the *New Yorker* , *Harper’s Bazaar*  and  *Rolling Stone* magazine.

***Wordy* is a celebration of one of the world’s foremost writers**. This collection of **fifty essays** chosen by the man himself stretches across four decades and is a treasure trove for all those who have a passion for the arts, politics, food and life.