| Description |
xiv, 268 pages ; 21 cm |
| Contents |
A literary pilgrim progresses to the past / by AndreĢ 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 fiction's 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 -- 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 poet's 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 |
| Summary |
Collects inspirational essays celebrating the art of writing, including contributions from Russell Banks, Saul Bellow, and E.L. Doctorow |
| Subject |
Authorship
|
|
Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.)
|
| Author |
Darnton, John, writer of introduction
|
| LC no. |
00053509 |
| ISBN |
0805070850 |
|
9780805070859 |
|
0805067418 |
|
9780805067415 |
|
