In brief
Subtitle: short takes on the personal
By: edited by Judith Kitchen and Mary Paumier Jones.
Contributors: Kitchen, Judith.; Jones, Mary Paumier.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 288
Subjects: American essays -- 20th century; Autobiographies
Description: From Harriet Doerr's recollection of a halcyon time to Josephine Jacobsen's reverie on memory, In Brief offers vivid glimpses into the ways experience can be shaped in language that is fresh and inventive. The seventy-three authors here include the known - John McPhee, Cynthia Ozick, James Salter - as well as remarkable new writers.

Essays (all under 2000 words) range from Frank McCourt's search for his father in the pubs of Limerick to William Maxwell's thoughts about growing old; from Charles Baxter's early experience of reading to Brady Udall's confession as a liar. In each piece, imagination becomes a way to explore reality. The real world we are fortunate enough to live in is revealed as endlessly rich and deep.