Burn This Book: PEN Writers Speak Out on the Power of the Word

( 4 )

All Available Formats + Editions

——

$9.99

NOOK Book

——

$9.99

Burn This Book: PEN Writers Speak Out on the Power of the Word (eBook) Pub. Date: 5/12/2009 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
$3.08

$11.60

Hardcover

$3.08

$11.60

Burn This Book: PEN Writers Speak Out on the Power of the Word Pub. Date: 5/12/2009 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

Who Is Mark Twain?Mark Twain
Hardcover $13.71

ADVERTISING

Overview

"A writer′s life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity"

- Toni Morrison, Burn this Book

Published in conjunction with the PEN American center, Burn this Book is a powerful collection of essays that explore the meaning of censorship, and the power of literature to inform the way we see the world, and ourselves. Contributors include literary heavyweights like Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, Orhan Pamuk, David Grossman and Nadine Gordimer, and others.

In "Witness: The Inward Testimony" Nadine Gordimer discusses the role of the writer as observer, and as someone who sees "what is really taking place." She looks to Proust, Oe, Flaubert, Graham Green to see how their philosophy squares with her own, ultimately concluding "Literature has been and remains a means of people rediscovering themselves." "In Freedom to Write" Orham Pamuk elegantly describes escorting Arthur Miller and Harold Pinter around Turkey and how that experience changed his life.

In "The Value of the Word" Salman Rushdie shares a story from Bugakov′s novel The Master and the Margarita in which the Devil talks to a frustrated writer called "The Master" The writer is so upset with his own work he decides to burn it: "How could you do that?" the devil asks... "Manuscripts to not burn." Indeed, manuscripts do not burn, Rushdie argues, but writers do.

As Americans we often take our freedom of speech for granted. When we talk about censorship we talk about China, the former Soviet Union. But the recent presidential election has shined a spotlight on profound acts of censorship in our own backyard. Both provocative and timely, Burn this Book include a sterling list of award winning writers; it sure to ignite spirited dialogue.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In 11 short essays by some of the world's premier novelists, this volume explores a simple question: why write? Contributor Paul Auster may put the query best: "Surely it is an odd way to spend your life-sitting alone in a room with a pen in your hand, hour after hour, day after day, year after year, struggling to put words on pieces of paper." In response, Pico Iyer delivers a moving account of a Burmese trishaw driver living under political oppression, who for years composed (by candlelight) letters to the author, many of which were censored. Orhan Pamuk also explores this intense human hunger for stories and creative freedom with an anecdote from his March 1985 tour of Turkey, on which he introduced Arthur Miller and Harold Pinter to Turkish writers who had suffered "repression, cruelty and outright evil" in a military coup. Francine Prose, on the other hand, makes a lively attempt to separate literature from politics (in which she cops to her own political biases in her choice of examples). The disparate voices produce a complex of reasons that drive writers, though all agree that, as observed by Morrison (wearing both editor and contributor caps), it's a "bleak, unlivable, insufferable existence... when we are deprived of artwork."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews

From The Critics

Published in conjunction with the PEN American Center, this slim collection of essays has an amazing list of contributors—Toni Morrison, John Updike, David Grossman, Francine Prose, Pico Iyer, Russell Banks, Paul Auster, Orhan Pamuk, Salman Rushdie, Ed Park, and Nadine Gordimer. There is no introduction or preface to any of the essays, most of which are somber and all of which are engrossing; each brief piece pulls the reader in. The contributors discuss the importance of writing from various views, political and social. They illustrate the need for freedom of speech and human rights, and they emphasize the target writers become in a tyranny. VERDICT This is not an easy read, but it is a profound, absorbing, and moving collection of work. An essential purchase.—Paolina Taglienti, Las Vegas Coll., Henderson, NV

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780061774003
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 5/12/2009
Pages: 128
Sales rank: 554,290
Product dimensions: 5.40 (w) x 8.10 (h) x 0.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Toni Morrison

Few contemporary novelists have achieved the venerated status of Toni Morrison. She has written adored modern classics like Beloved and Song of Solomon that daringly blend the supernatural and the natural with an uncommonly poetic eloquence. She is a recipient of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Noble Prize for Literature, and is truly one of America’s most gifted storytellers.

Biography

Toni Morrison has been called "black America's best novelist," and her incredible string of imaginative contemporary classics would suggest that she is actually one of America's best novelists regardless of race. Be that as it may, it is indeed difficult to disconnect Morrison's work from racial issues, as they lie at the heart of her most enduring novels.

Growing up in Lorain, Ohio, a milieu Jet magazine described as "mixed and sometimes hostile," Morrison experienced racism firsthand. (When she was still a toddler, her home was set on fire with her family inside.) Yet, her father instilled in her a great sense of dignity, a cultural pride that would permeate her writing. She distinguished herself in school, graduating from Howard and Cornell Universities with bachelor's and master's degrees in English; in addition to her career as a writer, she has taught at several colleges and universities, lectured widely, and worked in publishing.

Morrison made her literary debut in 1970 with The Bluest Eye, the story of a lonely 11-year-old black girl who prays that God will turn her eyes blue, in the naïve belief that this transformation will change her miserable life. As the tale unfolds, her life does change, but in ways almost too tragic and devastating to contemplate. On its publication, the book received mixed reviews; but John Leonard of The New York Times recognized the brilliance of Morrison's writing, describing her prose as "...so precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry."

Over time, Morrison's talent became self-evident, and her reputation grew with each successive book. Her second novel, Sula, was nominated for a National Book Award; her third, 1977's Song of Solomon, established her as a true literary force. Shot through with the mythology and African-American folklore that informed Morrison's childhood in Ohio, this contemporary folktale is notable for its blending of supernatural and realistic elements. It was reviewed rapturously and went on win a National Book Critics Circle Award.

The culmination of Morrison's storytelling skills, and the book most often considered her masterpiece, is Beloved. Published in 1987 and inspired by an incident from history, this post-Civil War ghost story tells the story of Sethe, a former runaway slave who murdered her baby daughter rather than condemn her to a life of slavery. Now, 18 years later, Sethe and her family are haunted by the spirit of the dead child. Heartbreaking and harrowing, Beloved grapples with mythic themes of love and loss, family and freedom, grief and guilt, while excavating the tragic, shameful legacy of slavery. The novel so moved Morrison's literary peers that 48 of them signed an open letter published in The New York Times, demanding that she be recognized for this towering achievement. The book went on to win the Pulitzer Prize; and in 2006, it was selected by The New York Times as the single best work of American fiction published in the last 25 years.

In addition to her extraordinary novels, Morrison has also written a play, short stories, a children's book, and copious nonfiction, including essays, reviews, and literary and social criticism. While she has made her name by addressing important African-American themes, her narrative power and epic sweep have won her a wide and diverse audience. She cannot be dismissed as a "black writer" any more than we can shoehorn Faulkner's fiction into "southern literature." Fittingly, she received the Nobel Prize in 1993; perhaps the true power of her impressive body of work is best summed up in the Swedish Academy's citation, which reads: "To Toni Morrison, who, in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality."

Good To Know

Chloe Anthony Wofford chose to publish her first novel under the name Toni Morrison because she believed that Toni was easier to pronounce than Chloe. Morrison later regretted assuming the nom de plume.

In 1986, the first production of Morrison's sole play Dreaming Emmett was staged. The play was based on the story of Emmett Till, a black teen murdered by racists in 1955.

Morrison's prestigious status is not limited to her revered novels or her multitude of awards. She also holds a chair at Princeton University.

1. Also Known As:
  
  Toni Morrison
  Chloe Anthony Wofford (real name)
2. Hometown:
  
  Princeton, New Jersey, and Manhattan
1. Date of Birth:
  
  February 18, 1931
2. Place of Birth:
  
  Lorain, Ohio
1. Education:
  
  Howard University, B.A. in English, 1953; Cornell, M.A., 1955

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5

( 4 )

Rating Distribution

( 0 )
( 3 )
( 0 )
( 0 )
( 1 )

If you've bought this product, tell the world how you liked it.

Write a Review

Valli

Posted October 26, 2009

Good book to read

I liked this book very much because of its subject matter and the intellectual stimulation I get while reading it. And I highly recommend it!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
bittrsweet

Posted July 27, 2009

more from this reviewer

One to return

For some reason, I thought that this was a collection of short stories from well known authors like Toni Morrison (whom I love). In actuality, the book only includes essays on the importance of writing and writers. I read half of them and found them relatively useless. It's the kind of thing one would assign in a college course, but certainly not something to read outside of academia.

Must find my receipt so I can return this...
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Melissa_W

Posted May 22, 2009

more from this reviewer

I Also Recommend:

Support PEN!

Because this is a short book of essays, some previously published, I can't talk about character or plot or information conveyed or anything like that. However, I can attest to the power of each writer's message - that words are important and writers are important. Each short piece brings a different aspect, whether writing of oppression or protest or catharsis. A high point is Ed Park's essay on censorship rendered in the form of Cormier's "I am the Cheese." Support PEN!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Anonymous

Posted November 9, 2009

No text was provided for this review.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble