Synopses & Reviews
Now in paperback, today's most celebrated writers explore literature and the literary life in an inspirational collection of original essays.By turns poignant, hilarious, and practical, Writers on Writing brings together more than forty of contemporary literature's finest voices.
Pieces range from reflections on the daily craft of writing to the intersection of art's and life's consequential moments. Authors discuss what impels them to write: creating a sense of control in a turbulent universe; bearing witness to events that would otherwise be lost in history or within the writer's soul; recapturing a fragment of time. Others praise mentors and lessons, whether from the classroom, daily circumstances, or the pages of a favorite writer. For anyone interested in the art and rewards of writing, Writers on Writing offers an uncommon and revealing view of a writer's world.
Contributors include Russell Banks, Saul Bellow, E. L. Doctorow, Richard Ford, Kent Haruf, Carl Hiaasen, Alice Hoffman, Jamaica Kincaid, Barbara Kingsolver, Sue Miller, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Annie Proulx, Carol Shields, Jane Smiley, Susan Sontag, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Alice Walker, and Elie Wiesel.
Review
"[A] thoughtful examination of writers' concerns about the creative process and the place of literature in America....[T]he essays are immediately engaging and compelling all the way through....Overall, the writers' pensiveness and amity make for a thought-provoking yet reassuring read a good bedside book." Publishers Weekly
Review
"The essays...are all unified by an overwhelming sense of generosity of spirit, of writers offering encouragement, reflection, and introspection..." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[O]ne of the finest series of literary essays found in newsprint...is now, hallelujah, preserved in book form....[P]iquant, bracing, and virtuosic essays that are as much about life as they are about creativity." Booklist
Review
"[An] intimate, chatty collection....What emerges is a sense of the mysterious way in which fiction chooses those with not merely good stories to tell but dedication to the physical act of writing itself." Library Journal
Review
"Teens interested in writing fiction will find inspiration, advice, and humor in these 43 essays....Teens will be familiar with some if not all of the writers in this collection, but all of these fine authors have something enlightening to say." School Library Journal
About the Author
John Darnton, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the George Polk Award for his journalism, is culture editor for
The New York Times and the author of two novels. He lives in New York.
Table of Contents
Introduction by
John DarntonA Literary Pilgrim Progresses to the Past by André Aciman
A Novelist's Vivid Memory Spins Fiction of Its Own by Russell Banks
To Engage the World More Fully, Follow a Dog by Rick Bass
Hidden Within Technology's Empire, a Republic of Letters by Saul Bellow
Pupils Glimpse an Idea, Teacher Gets a Gold Star by Anne Bernays
Characters' Weaknesses Build Fictions' Strengths by Rosellen Brown
How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call? by Carolyn Chute
From Echoes Emerge Original Voices by Nicholas Delbanco
Quick Cuts: The Novel Follows Film into a World of Fewer Words by E. L. Doctorow
Two Languages in Mind, but Just One in the Heart by Louise Erdrich
Instant Novels? In Your Dreams! by Thomas Fleming
Goofing Off While the Muse Recharges by Richard Ford
A Novelist Breaches the Border to Nonfiction by Gail Godwin
Putting Pen to Paper, but Not Just Any Pen or Just Any Paper by Mary Gordon
To See Your Story Clearly, Start by Pulling the Wool over Your Own Eyes by Kent Haruf
Real Life, That Bizarre and Brazen Plagiarist by Carl Hiaasen
Sustained by Fiction While Facing Life's Facts by Alice Hoffman
The Enduring Commitment of a Faithful Storyteller by Maureen Howard Inventing Life Steals Time, Living Life Begs It Back by Gish Jen
Pesky Themes Will Emerge When You're Not Looking by Diane Johnson
Sitting Down a Novelist, Getting Up a Playwright by Ward Just
Those Words That Echo . . . Echo . . . Echo Through Life by Jamaica Kincaid
A Forbidden Territory Familiar to All by Barbara Kingsolver
Summoning the Mystery and Tragedy, but in a Subterranean Way by Hans Koning
Comforting Lessons in Arranging Life's Details by David Leavitt
The Humble Genre Novel, Sometimes Full of Genius by David Mamet
She Was Blond. She Was in Trouble. And She Paid 3 Cents a Word by Ed McBain
Virtual Reality: The Perils of Seeking a Novelist's Facts in Her Fiction by Sue Miller
For Authors, Fragile Ideas Need Loving Every Day by Walter Mosley
To Invigorate Literary Mind, Start Moving Literary Feet by Joyce Carol Oates
A Storyteller Stands Where Justice Confronts Basic Human Needs by Sara Paretsky
Life of Prose and Poetry: An Inspiring Combination by Marge Piercy
Inspiration? Head Down the Back Road, and Stop for the Yard Sales by Annie Proulx
If You Invent the Story, You're the First to See How It Ends by Roxana Robinson
Once Upon a Time, Literature. Now What? by James Salter
Starting with a Tree and Finally Getting to the Death of a Brother by William Saroyan
Opting for Invention over the Injury of Invasion by Carol Shields
A Reluctant Muse Embraces His Task, and Everything Changes by Jane Smiley
Directions: Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed by Susan Sontag
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An Odyssey That Started with Ulysses by Scott Turow
Questions of Character: There's No Ego as Wounded as a Wounded Alter Ego by John Updike (as Henry Bech)
Despite Tough Guys, Life Is Not the Only School for Real Novelists by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Metta to Muriel and Other Marvels: A Poets Experience of Meditation by Alice Walker
In the Castle of Indolence You Can Hear the Sound of Your Own Mind by Paul West
A Sacred Magic Can Elevate the Secular Storyteller by Elie Wiesel
Embarking Together on Solitary Journeys by Hilma Wolitzer