Writers on Writing Collected Essays from The New York Times

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780805070859
• ISBN10: 0805070850
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-01
• Publisher: Times Books

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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	xi
John Darnton
A Literary Pilgrim Progresses to the Past	1	(7)
Andre Aciman
A Novelist's Vivid Memory Spins Fiction of Its Own	8	(5)
Russell Banks
To Engage the World More Fully, Follow a Dog	13	(4)
Rick Bass
Hidden Within Technology's Empire, a Republic of Letters	17	(6)
Saul Bellow
Pupils Glimpse an Idea, Teacher Gets a Gold Star	23	(5)
Anne Bernays
Characters' Weaknesses Build Fiction's Strengths	28	(7)
Rosellen Brown
How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call?	35	(8)
Carolyn Chute
From Echoes Emerge Original Voices	43	(6)
Nicholas Delbanco
Quick Cuts: The Novel Follows Film into a World of Fewer Words	49	(5)
E. L. Doctorow
Two Languages in Mind, but Just One in the Heart	54	(6)
Louise Erdrich
Instant Novels? In Your Dreams!	60	(5)
Thomas Fleming
Goofing Off While the Muse Recharges	65	(6)
Richard Ford
A Novelist Breaches the Border to Nonfiction	71	(7)
Gail Godwin
Putting Pen to Paper, but Not Just Any Pen or Just Any Paper	78	(6)
Mary Gordon
To See Your Story Clearly, Start by Pulling the Wool over Your Own Eyes	84	(6)
Kent Haruf
Real Life, That Bizarre and Brazen Plagiarist	90	(5)
Carl Hiaasen
Sustained by Fiction While Facing Life's Facts	95	(4)
Alice Hoffman
The Enduring Commitment of a Faithful Storyteller	99	(5)
Maureen Howard
Inventing Life Steals Time, Living Life Begs It Back	104	(6)
Gish Jen
Pesky Themes Will Emerge When You're Not Looking	110	(6)
Diane Johnson
Sitting Down a Novelist, Getting Up a Playwright	116	(7)
Ward Just
Those Words That Echo ... Echo ... Echo Through Life	123	(7)
Jamaica Kincaid
A Forbidden Territory Familiar to All	130	(6)
Barbara Kingsolver
Summoning the Mystery and Tragedy, but in a Subterranean Way	136	(5)
Hans Koning
Comforting Lessons in Arranging Life's Details	141	(4)
David Leavitt
The Humble Genre Novel, Sometimes Full of Genius	145	(4)
David Mamet
She Was Blond. She Was in Trouble. And She Paid 3 Cents a Word	149	(7)
Ed McBain
Virtual Reality: The Perils of Seeking a Novelist's Facts in Her Fiction	156	(5)
Sue Miller
For Authors, Fragile Ideas Need Loving Every Day	161	(4)
Walter Mosley
To Invigorate Literary Mind, Start Moving Literary Feet	165	(7)
Joyce Carol Oates
A Storyteller Stands Where Justice Confronts Basic Human Needs	172	(6)
Sara Paretsky
Life of Prose and Poetry: An Inspiring Combination	178	(7)
Marge Piercy
Inspiration? Head Down the Back Road, and Stop for the Yard Sales	185	(6)
Annie Proulx
If You Invent the Story, You're the First to See How It Ends	191	(7)
Roxana Robinson
Once Upon a Time, Literature. Now What?	198	(6)
James Salter
Starting with a Tree and Finally Getting to the Death of a Brother	204	(7)
William Saroyan
Opting for Invention over the Injury of Invasion	211	(6)
Carol Shields
A Reluctant Muse Embraces His Task, and Everything Changes	217	(6)
Jane Smiley
Directions: Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed	223	(7)
Susan Sontag
An Odyssey That Started with Ulysses	230	(6)
Scott Turow
Questions of Character: There's No Ego as Wounded as a Wounded Alter Ego	236	(5)
John Updike
Henry Bech
Despite Tough Guys, Life Is Not the Only School for Real Novelists	241	(5)
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Metta to Muriel and Other Marvels: A Poet's Experience of Meditation	246	(5)
Alice Walker
In the Castle of Indolence You Can Hear the Sound of Your Own Mind	251	(7)
Paul West
A Sacred Magic Can Elevate the Secular Storyteller	258	(5)
Elie Wiesel
Embarking Together on Solitary Journeys	263
Hilma Wolitzer

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