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The Wink of the Zenith: The Shaping of a Writer's Lifeby Floyd Skloot
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In his three previous memoirs, Floyd Skloot grappled with the brain-ravaging virus that struck him at forty-one. He was, as the San Francisco Chronicle noted, “shaping the experience of crippling illness into dazzling literature.” How such alchemy is performedwhere, in fact, the magic comes fromis the subject of Skloots new book, a memoir of the making of a writer. Sifting through memories and observations to discover how circumstance and nature conspired to make him the writer he is, Skloot enacts in this book the very process he describes, the shaping of a writers life. Among the influences of family and close friendship, experience and popular culture, he uncovers a unique and telling perspective on the forging of a writers individual sensibility. At the same time, his book explores fundamental questions about how life shapes the creative spiritand how, in turn the writer makes sense of it all and gives life a new and meaningful shape in the form of literature. Review:"Skloot had been writing poetry for 20 years, short stories for 15, with three novels on the way, when he was struck with a brain disease that ravaged his memory. Fiction became impossible. Only memoir could help him reassemble his past; two he wrote in this phase, In the Shadow of Memory and A World of Light, have received great praise. This latest memoir moves away from the illness theme to explore what has made Skloot a writer, 'the sort of person who could only deal with what happened to him by writing about it.' He first explores what he calls 'external' influences forming him as a writer — the discovery that he could fulfill school writing assignments with his baseball mania, that his television heroes like Peter Gunn were cooler as observers than as doers, even that the rituals of cooking could bring comfort. Then he focuses on how his writerly sensibilities have shaped his life — from how he jogged listening 'to hear the hidden cadence' to the way he communicated with his aging, memory-impaired mother through song. Skloot is such a fine writer that he can — and does — write about eating 'baloney and eggs' and makes it seem fascinating. Writers at any stage of their careers will treasure this volume of clean, expressive prose that delights without ever showing off. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"A full-color portrait of Skloots boyhood that rings with authenticity."-Jenny Shank, New West (Jenny Shank, New West, Oct 20 2008 )Review:"Once in awhile a memoir comes along that, in bending the rules of narrative realism, becomes truer both to life and to art. The Wink of the Zenith is one of those. . . . Skloot unravels the tangled thread of his own life story with a sense of urgency often missing from linear memoir; and in so doing, he shows us that while truth and fact may be intimately connected, meaning itself is in the telling."-Courtney Arnold, ForeWord Magazine (Courtney Arnold, ForeWord Magazine, Sep 1 2008 )Review:"Skloots newest is wise, thoughtful, and generally humorous."-Deborah Donovan, Booklist Review:"Skloot is such a fine writer that he can-and does-write about eating "baloney and eggs" and makes it seem fascinating. Writers at any stage of their careers will treasure this volume of clean, expressive prose that delights without ever showing off."-Publishers Weekly, Starred Review Review:"A book to be savored, not gulped down but tasted, essay by essay, allowing time to be amazed at how Skloots insights beam directly into our souls."-Penny Allen, OregonLive.com Review:"A full-color portrait of Skloots boyhood that rings with authenticity."-Jenny Shank, New West About the AuthorFloyd Skloot is the author of four novels, most recently Patient 002; six collections of poetry, including The End of Dreams; a collection of essays; and three previous memoirs. He is the winner of three Pushcart Prizes, the most recent for his essay, “The Voice of the Past,” which appears in The Wink of the Zenith. His memoir In the Shadow of Memory (available in a Bison Books edition) was named a Best of 2003 nonfiction title by the Chicago Tribune and was a 2003 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award nonfiction finalist. His memoir A World of Light (Nebraska 2005) was a New York Times Book Review Editors Choice selection for 2005. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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