Why Essays Matter
By: Jason Park
Tags: Nonfiction, Books, Writing, Essay, Reading

Why Essays Matter

A review of Phillip Lopate’s new compilation of historical essays, *The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present* Jason Park Follow Dec 23, 2020 · 5 min read

Has reading an essay ever changed your life?

It has mine. “Common Sense” helped me fall further in love with reading history. “A Case for Reparations”, while I don’t fully agree with the conclusions, sent me scrambling for more information on race in America (a quest that continues to this day). Depending on your definition of “essay”, these two might not even count. But that is part of what Phillip Lopate seeks to reconcile in his new book, The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present. There is no agreed-upon definition of what an essay is, so Lopate seeks to codify an inclusive definition and set up a canon of sorts. He does not pretend to include all the great essays, but rather a collection that represents some of the greatest short writings (whether delivered in print or in spoken word) ever created in our nation’s history.

Breadth must have also been a key tenet. His collection of one hundred essays includes the most diverse group of authors (ethnically, politically, religiously, etc.) I have ever encountered. Represented within the pages are authors who are white, Black, Chinese, Jewish, and Russian. One-third of the authors are women (pretty impressive considering the publication rate of authors in American history). There were even (at least) two authors with disabilities included. The essays encompass a gigantic range of topics, from political ones to religious or cultural ones, from the death of a pig to the deficiencies of American interior design.

My favorite essays? They were actually all adapted speeches, which Lopate rightly considers to count as essays. MLK’s “Beyond Vietnam” is simply terrific and speaks to our world today with as much clarity as his own. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address has always been one of my favorite pieces of writing of all time, and it makes an appearance here. Something new touches me and changes me each time I read it, and this time was no exception. But my favorite part of the entire collection was near the very beginning when I read, for the first time since my early teens, Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. While Edwards’ famous sermon sometimes gets a bad rap for being a “hell, fire and brimstone” message (as a matter of fact, it seems to be considered the epitome of it), but there is a huge difference between Edwards’ sermon and what is commonly referred to as a “hell, fire and brimstone” message today: Edwards’ unrelenting focus on God’s grace juxtaposed to his wrath. It is actually the perfect balance for the Christian faith. Take, for example, this excerpt:

Their foot shall slide in due time, seems to imply the following things, relating to the punishment and destruction to which these wicked Israelites were exposed. … 3. Another thing implied is, that they are liable to fall of the selves, without being thrown down by the hand of another; as he that stands or walks on slippery ground needs nothing but his own weight to throw him down. 4. That the reason why they are not fallen already, and do not fall now, is only that God’s appointed time is not come. For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed times comes, their foot shall slide. Then they shall be left to fall, as they are inclined by their own weight. God will not hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and then, at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands on such slippery declining ground, on the edge of a pit, he cannot stand alone, when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost. The observation from the words that I would now insist upon is this. — “There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God” — By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, hindered by no manner of difficulty, any more than if nothing else but God’s mere will had in the least degree, or in any respect whatsoever, any hand in the preservation of wicked men one moment.

So you would fall into the abyss of your own volition, of your own choice, except for the hand of God keeping you from falling into the pit. That is grace, and Edwards captures it perfectly.

Many other essays were new to me and made a significant impression. Margaret Fuller’s “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” helped me gain a new perspective on women’s roles at a national turning point. Frederick Douglass’s “To My Old Master, Thomas Auld”, although I had read portions before in David Blight’s wonderful biography, was much more impactful to read in full and once again shows grace at work. Sui Sin Far’s “Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian” was illuminating in its depiction of what is was like to live as someone with mixed ethnicity (half Chinese) in America. W.E.B. Dubois was fantastic, as always, in “Of Our Spiritual Strivings”. Zora Neale Hurston’s “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”, was raw and powerful in its honesty. E.B. White’s “The Death of a Pig”, was surprisingly beautiful. I saw a new side of James Baldwin in his “Equal in Paris”. And the most arresting of them all might have been (don’t laugh) Nora Ephron’s “A Few Words About Breasts”.

Lopate has constructed something beautiful in this volume, which is large, but one can easily dip in and out of it over time. If you love writing from great writers, or you want a small sampling of some of the greatest American writers, this is a perfect book for you. The diversity and quality of these essays will make you come away changed, no matter which essay (or possibly multiple) does it for you.

I received a review copy of The Glorious American Essay courtesy of Knopf Doubleday Publishing and NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.