Lives of the Poets (with Guitars) picks up where Samuel Johnson left off nearly 250 years ago, collecting biographical and critical portraits of 13 of rock & roll, blues, folk, and alt-country's most inimitable artists. These often irreverent essays offer a riotous, toe-tapping and original take on how each musician shaped their genre, while looking into their tumultuous lives.

Ray Robertson is the author of five novels: What Happened Later, Gently Down the Stream, Home Movies, Heroes, and Moody Food. The latter two received starred reviews from Quill & Quire, and the last made it to the top one hundred lists of The Globe and Mail and The Vancouver Sun. In 2004, Ray published Mental Hygiene, a collection of his articles, essays, and book reviews. Ray lives in Toronto, where he teaches Creative Writing at the University of Toronto.

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Praise for Lives of the Poets (with Guitars)

"[Robertson] brings a good ear and plenty of critical insight to essays aimed at helping readers discover new favorites or hear more familiar music from a fresh perspective ... [A] solid ... fresh collection."—Kirkus Reviews

"There is much to love and admire about Lives of the Poets (with Guitars). Robertson brings a discerning ear and keen passion, a sly sense of humour and a deep sense of philosophical questioning to each of these pieces ... [A] powerful book and one to which music fans are likely to often return. It's not just that it serves as an introduction (and shopping list) for artists with whom one might be unfamiliar; the passion and intensity Robertson brings to his listening will likely have readers looking at their own record collections in a new light, the familiar suddenly new again."—The Toronto Star

"[A] smart, amusing and compelling collection ... Robertson's writing style walks the line between the scholarly approach of Robert Christgau of Village Voice ... and that of Lester Bangs (Rolling Stone, Creem, etc.) who rivaled Hunter S. Thompson in terms of opinionated and decadent balls-to-the-wall journalism ... Reading Lives of the Poets (With Guitars) is almost like having a buddy who works in a record store sit you down and say, 'OK, it's time you got schooled about who has really been important in writing music.'"—Winnipeg Free Press

"Insightful and excellent ... Robertson [explores] the tension between artistry, survival, and motivation from the perspective of an ardent fan ... Highly entertaining."—Vish Kanna, The Globe & Mail

"The achievement of [Robertson's] book is that it directs fans and novices alike toward the myriad joys offered up by its subjects, while also prodding us to think and feel more deeply about the other poets with guitars — or boom boxes or turntables — who lie beyond these pages, in our own personal pantheons."—Quill & Quire

"[A] smart, amusing and compelling collection ... Robertson's writing style walks the line between the scholarly approach of Robert Christgau of Village Voice ... and that of Lester Bangs (Rolling Stone, Creem, etc.) who rivaled Hunter S. Thompson in terms of opinionated and decadent balls-to-the-wall journalism ... Reading Lives of the Poets (with Guitars) is almost like having a buddy who works in a record store sit you down and say, 'OK, it's time you got schooled about who has really been important in writing music.'"—Winnipeg Free Press

Praise for Ray Robertson

"Both playful and profound, laced with insight from music to history, politics to literature, high to low culture."—National Post

"Robertson's art is as character-driven as Mordecai Richler's ... he wants us all to behave better and doesn't care who he angers along the way."—Globe & Mail

"Ray Robertson is the Jerry Lee Lewis of North American letters."—Chuck Kinder, author of Honeymooners

"Robertson shares a literary wildness with Thomas Wolfe."—Cleveland Free Times