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Looking back on her own childhood and the development of her writing career, Margaret Atwood examines the metaphors which writers of fiction and poetry have used to explain - or excuse - their activities, looking at what costumes they have seen fit to assume, what roles they have chosen to play.
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett offers fifteen-minute exercises designed to help aspiring writers find the time, and motivation, to write.
When in 1901 Alfred Nobel bequeathed to the world the funds to support the Nobel Prize, one of his few directives for the category of literature was that the artists selected be of "idealistic tendency." Since its inception, the prize has given a very public voice to some of the world's greatest writers, and their responses to the honor-their acceptance speeches-have themselves often been epochal within each author's body of literature. From the famed call to "arms" by William Faulkner to the multicultural song of Derek Walcott, from 1903's Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson to 1999's Günter Grass, this collection traces the ideals of the artists and the selection committee itself throughout the entirety of the 20th century. "Interestingly," writes Draugsvold, "none [of the writers] discuss the more technical aspects of their craft." Equally striking is the strength of the common thread of idealism found in these addresses-a firm belief in humankind and the power of art, in its role in "the service of truth and the service of liberty" as Albert Camus said in 1957. "I decline to accept the end of man" wrote the Old Man, William Faulkner. The speeches presented here were chosen not by subjective but rather by substantive criteria, with biographical presentations and brief statements of gratitude omitted. Included are an introduction to each of the 28 writers chosen, an excerpted copy of the speech or lecture and a bibliography of works in English. The work concludes with a complete list of prize winners in literature and a bibliography of sources cited in the writer's introductions.
In Advice to Writers, Jon Winokur, author of the bestselling The Portable Curmudgeon, gathers the counsel of more than four hundred celebrated authors in a treasury on the world of writing. Here are literary lions on everything from the passive voice to promotion and publicity: James Baldwin on the practiced illusion of effortless prose, Isaac Asimov on the despotic tendencies of editors, John Cheever on the perils of drink, Ivan Turgenev on matrimony and the Muse. Here, too, are the secrets behind the sleight-of-hand practiced by artists from Aristotle to Rita Mae Brown. Sagacious, inspiring, and entertaining, Advice to Writers is an essential volume for the writer in every reader.
Beloved story writer Ron Carlson's first novel in thirty years, Five Skies is the story of three men gathered high in the Rocky Mountains for a construction project that is to last the summer. Having participated in a spectacular betrayal in Los Angeles, the giant, silent Arthur Key drifts into work as a carpenter in southern Idaho. Here he is hired, along with the shiftless and charming Ronnie Panelli, to build a stunt ramp beside a cavernous void. The two will be led by Darwin Gallegos, the foreman of the local ranch who is filled with a primeval rage at God, at man, at life. As they endeavor upon this simple, grand project, the three reveal themselves in cautiously resonant, profound ways. And in a voice of striking intimacy and grace, Carlson's novel reveals itself as a story of biblical, almost spiritual force. A bellwether return from one of our greatest craftsmen, Five Skies is sure to be one of the most praised and cherished novels of the year.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series Everything in Texas is bigger . . . even murder. Meet Tres Navarre—tequila drinker, Tai Chi master, and unlicensed P.I., with a penchant for Texas-size trouble. Jackson “Tres” Navarre and his enchilada-eating cat, Robert Johnson, pull into San Antonio and find nothing waiting but trouble. Ten years ago Navarre left town and the memory of his father’s murder behind him. Now he’s back, looking for answers. Yet the more Tres digs, trying to put his suspicions to rest, the fresher the decade-old crime looks: Mafia connections, construction site payoffs, and slick politicians’ games all conspire to ruin his homecoming. It’s obvious Tres has stirred up a hornet’s nest of trouble. He gets attacked, shot at, run over by a big blue Thunderbird—and his old girlfriend, the one he wants back, is missing. Tres has to rescue the woman, nail his father’s murderer, and get the hell out of Dodge before mob-style Texas justice catches up to him. The chances of staying alive looked better for the defenders of the Alamo. “Riordan writes so well about the people and topography of his Texas hometown that he quickly marks the territory as his own.”—Chicago Tribune Don’t miss any of these hotter-than-Texas-chili Tres Navarre novels: BIG RED TEQUILA • THE WIDOWER’S TWO-STEP • THE LAST KING OF TEXAS • THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO AUSTIN • SOUTHTOWN • MISSION ROAD • REBEL ISLAND
"From deeply personal perspectives, two dozen established writers ponder the mystery of their art and such fundamentals as: What is a genuine writing impulse? Why does good writing work? How is writing learned? What is the role of craft and technique? Who is meant to be a writer? How is close reading related to good writing? The volume is peppered with critical perspectives and practical advice, yet its special richness and inspiration lie in the wonderment and deep love for the act of writing expressed by each contributor. Each essay is a joy to read, blending storytelling, literary anecdotes gathered from a lifetime of avid reading, and the kind of shoptalk exchanged between colleagues. Writers will find here camaraderie and encouragement, teachers of writing will hear practical testimony to what works, and readers will come away with a renewed awe for the spell cast by good writing"--From back cover.
"Contemporary fairy tales, cushioned by goofy humor and a deep tenderness for her characters, that aren't always as dark or as sinister as they initially appear." --The New York Times Book Review Aimee Bender’s Willful Creatures conjures a fantastical world in which authentic love blooms. This is a place where a boy with keys for fingers is a hero, a woman’s children are potatoes, and a little boy with an iron for a head is born to a family of pumpkin heads. With her singular mix of surrealism, musical prose, and keenly felt emotion, Bender once again proves herself to be a masterful chronicler of the human condition.
