Lit from Within: Contemporary Masters on the Art and Craft of Writing

by Kevin Haworth (Editor), Dinty W. Moore (Editor)

Overview

Lit from Within offers creative writers a window into the minds of some of America’s most celebrated contemporary authors. Witty, direct, and thought–provoking, these essays offer something to creative writers of all backgrounds and experience. With contributions from fiction writers, poets, and nonfiction writers, this is a collection of unusual breadth and quality. Contributors: Lee K. Abbott, Rick Bass, Claire Bateman, Charles Baxter, Ron Carlson, Billy Collins, Peter Ho Davies, Carl Dennis, Stephen Dunn, Robin Hemley, Tony Hoagland, David Kirby, Maggie Nelson, Francine Prose, Mary Ruefle

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780821419489
Publisher:	Ohio University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2011
Edition description:	1
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Kevin Haworth's novel The Discontinuity of Small Things was winner of the Samuel Goldberg Prize for best Jewish fiction and finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Price. He teaches writing at Ohio University and serves as executive editor of Ohio University Press/Swallow Press.

Dinty W. Moore's memoir Between Panic & Desire was the winner of the Grub Street Nonfiction Book Prize in 2009. His other books include The Accidental Buddhist, Toothpick Men, and The Emperor’s Virtual Clothes. He is a professor of nonfiction writing at Ohio University.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• RON CARLSON
  The Wrong Answer
• ROBIN HEMLEY
  Confessions of a Navel Gazer
• FRANCINE PROSE
  Gesture
• BILLY COLLINS
  The Myth of Craft
  Thoughts on the Writing of Poetry
• PETER HO DAVIES
  Only Collect
  Something about the Short Story Collection
• CHARLES BAXTER
  Stillness
• DAVID KIRBY
  Thirteen Things I Hate about Poetry
• CLAIRE BATEMAN
  Some Questions about Questions
• STEPHEN DUNN
  The Poem, Its Buried Subject, and the Revisionist Reader
  Behind “The Guardian Angel”
• LEE K. ABBOTT
  Thirteen Things about the Contemporary Short Story That Really Hack Me Off
• TONY HOAGLAND
  Litany, Gamesmanship, and Representation
  Charting the Old to the New Poetry
• MAGGIE NELSON
  All That Is the Case
  Some Thoughts on Fact in Nonfiction and Documentary Poetry
• CARL DENNIS
  A Poem of Character
• RICK BASS
  Good Fortune Befell Me
  Notes on the Writer/Editor Relationship
• MARY RUEFLE
  Someone Reading a Book Is a Sign of Order in the World
• Credits

Editorial Reviews

Ever year the Ohio University Spring Literary Festival (AKA Lit Fest), invites writers to talk about writing: forty-five minutes on any topic, no stipulations, no themes. It's nice that the organizers assume that all readers, whether writers or not, are interested in issues of craft, and that divisions of genre are less important than a shared love of words. Alas, the resulting anthology, edited by Moore and Haworth, both of whom teach at the University, also suggests the potential pitfalls: the 15 talks (by Billy Collins, Francine Prose, Charles Baxter, and Peter Ho Davies, among others) are not all equally interesting. Some, though effective, will makes readers feel like they've returned to school. Others, like memoirist Robin Hemley's pique as to the low regard for the memoir or poet David Kirby's ire about being asked stupid questions about poetry, seem like vanity projects. However, when authors genuinely explore something—questions, in Claire Bateman's case and facts in Maggie Nelson's—we get what we hope for when we let writers loose: essays we couldn't have imagined or predicted and for which we will always be grateful. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

This collection of 15 essays, written by literary luminaries such as poet Billy Collins, novelist Francine Prose and nonfiction author Rick Bass, offers wonderful insight into the working habits of some of America's most celebrated authors…. Smart, concise and thought-provoking, this collection is a treasure for writers looking to improve their craft.”—The Writer


“The essays are detailed and sophisticated enough to appeal to writers, particularly novice writers, yet general enough to appeal to readers who are not necessarily writers.”—NewPages


“Reading Lit From Within reminded me of the best of the genre, including Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird, Nancie Atwell's In the Middle and Stephen Koch's The Modern Library Writer's Workshop.—The Plain Dealer


“Representing widely diverse approaches, the result is a useful book containing a wealth of creative writing wisdom.”—Book News


“The pieces in Lit from Within can be laugh-out-loud funny or seriously contemplative; either way, they all contain nuggets of wisdom that will speak to anyone who sits down to write.”—Ohio Today

From the Publisher