Synopses & Reviews
Now available in paperback, this extraordinary volume traces the Iowa Writers' Workshop's decade-by-decade evolution from the 1930s through the present. Until the end of the 19th century, no one believed that creative writing was a discipline that could be taught. A writer either possessed the genius to write literature, or didn't. Then, the Iowa Writer's Workshop came along and changed the history of American Literature. This collection consists of forty-three stories, each with an introduction by writers from the Iowa Workshop. It also includes original essays on both the writing life and trends in 20th century American Literature that were shaped by the growth of the Iowa program and the programs that followed. Featuring works by Wallace Stegner, Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver, Thom Jones, Bharati Mukherjee, Ethan Canin, Kathryn Harrison and Jane Smiley, this collection is a decade-by-decade celebration of those who studied at America's premier writing program. Here you'll find insightful essays about the program and the creation of stories that came out of it, and a summation that ponders the effective creative writing programs have had on literature in this century. The Workshop is the definitive book on not only the Iowa Writers' Workshop, but the method it developed and the rise of creative writing programs everywhere.
Table of Contents
Chip off the old block / Wallace Stegner -- And in my heart / R.V. Cassill -- The comforts of home / Flannery O'Connor -- The illegibility of this world / Richard Stern -- The fisherman who got away / Thomas Williams -- Offspring of the first generation / Bette Pesetsky -- The hustler / Walter Tevis -- Put yourself in my shoes / Raymond Carver -- Saints / Bharati Mukherjee -- Dunkelblau / Clark Blaise -- Falling in love / Andre Dubus -- The last generation / Joy Williams -- A more complete cross-section / John Casey -- A sorrowful woman / Gail Godwin -- Thirty-four seasons of winter / William Kittredge -- Mouses / Thom Jones -- A solo song: for Doc / James Alan McPherson -- Paper lantern / Stuart Dybek -- Work / Denis Johnson -- His dog / Ron Hansen -- A women's restaurant / T. Coraghessan Boyle -- Aren't you happy for me? / Richard Bausch -- Blessed assurance: a moral tale / Allan Gurganus -- Long distance / Jane Smiley -- Alma / Jayne Anne Phillips -- White angel / Michael Cunningham -- Mundo's sign / Bob Shacochis -- The story of my life / Kim Edwards -- Birthmates / Gish Jen -- The year of getting to know us / Ethan Canin -- The zealous mourner / Marly Swick -- The commuter / Colin Harrison -- Planting / Pinckney Benedict -- Here's your hat what's your hurry / Elizabeth McCracken -- Out of the woods / Chris Offutt -- Open house / Charles D'Ambrosio -- Lilacs / Abraham Verghese -- A hole in the sheets / Susan Power -- Brownsville / Tom Piazza -- Pipa's story / Lan Samantha Chang -- Buckeye the elder / Brady Udall -- Speaking in tongues / ZZ Packer.