Acceptable Words: Prayers for the Writer
Eight consistently engaging, thematically organized chapters offer writers a kind of spiritual resource to their craft, providing insight on such topics as how the writer encounters the world, the joy of the work, and how best to deliver that work to the world. Editors Schmidt and Stickney have drawn passages from letters, prose, and poetry by such authors, ancient and contemporary, as Mary Oliver, Chaucer, Nikki Grimes, Samuel Johnson, Saint Anselm, and Rilke, and they have organized the text so that it’s accessible both by author and subjects related to the writing process. Each passage requires only a page or less of text, making this a resource that can be used for quick reference. Stickney and Schmidt (whose first young adult novel, The Wednesday Wars, 2007, draws on religious and spiritual themes), have produced a book that will help creative readers and reflective believers alike find spiritual company in great literature. --Francisca Goldsmith