Alchemy of the word
Subtitle: writers talk about writing
By: edited by Nicola Morris and Aimee Liu
Publisher: California Institute of Arts and Letters; Coimbra Editions
Published: 2011
Place of publication: San Francisco
Language: eng
Number of pages: 239
ISBN-13: 9780982655641
Subjects: Authorship; Creative writing; Goddard College
Description: A book like no other, from a writing program like no other. In this remarkable collection of essays, twenty-five acclaimed novelists, poets, playwrights, memoirists, cross-genre and nonfiction writers engage the reader in a virtual literary conversation, filled with passion, insight, wit, and warmth. The Goddard MFA was the first low-residency program in creative writing; now there are around fifty operating in the United States. Program Director, Paul Selig says, "What greeted me at my first Goddard residency was the kind of community I had never dreamed possible ... the faculty-well, they were teachers of the first order, and I found their dedication to shepherding a new generation of writers came from a place of deep generosity, wisdom and integrity." Alchemy of the Word introduces you to this faculty-not through their writing tips, tricks, and exercises, but through their experiences of themselves as professional writers living in the world, tackling issues they care about deeply and reporting back. To read this anthology is to travel to the wellsprings of literary inspiration, and to eavesdrop on a room full of mentors. Words become us. Our lives become words. So begins the introduction to this powerful collection. The essays that follow are eclectic and range from the practical to the mystical, the humorous to the scientific, and the political to the personal. Throughout, each essay explores, exhorts, inspires, and exhilarates ... illustrating in its own distinctive way the transformative power of language: the alchemy of the word. -- taken from publisher website.
Table of contents: title: I. The spirit of the thing. Writing the silence / Reiko Rizzuto; title: Drawing the line somewhere / Richard Panek; title: What's held inside / Elena Georgiou; title: Dear writer / Kyle Bass; title: II. Composing the wilderness. The freak in all of us (or the importance of creating a map) / Rogelio Martinez; title: Mapping the dark world / Bhanu Kapil; title: Composing the wilderness / Ryan Boudinot; title: Inside the seismograph / Beatrix Gates; title: Beast, beauty, beloved / Aimee Liu; title: III. Aesthetic ambition. Reading at the bottom of the world / Victoria Nelson; title: Failure : an appreciation / Rebecca Brown; title: What we talk about when we talk about "aesthetic ambition" / Neil Landau; title: Playing by ear / Michael Klein; title: IV. Originality and influence. Originality and creativity : children of Beowulf and Trimalchio / Jeanne Mackin; title: Originality and influence / Jane Wohl; title: Writing against canon, writing against cliché : Creating a canon, becoming a cliché / Kenny Fries; title: Beware of others / Susan Kim; title: V. Form and content. Finding my range : form for my father / Kyle Bass; title: Form and content / Rachel Pollack; title: Text and subtext / Susan Kim; title: Would I land / Douglas A. Martin; title: VI. Points of view. Does a planet have a point of view / Jan Clausen; title: Some short thoughts on point of view via three poems / Juliana Spahr; title: Looking in the Jonathan Mirror / Deborah Brevoort; title: A brief history of anymore / Neil Landau; title: Dr. Edie gives a commencement speech / Paul Selig; title: VII. Writing community. Why I read / Elena Georgiou; title: Everything is free now / John McManus; title: Crossing the line : language, lives, stories / Juliana Spahr; title: Throwing the book / Nicola Morris; title: VIII. Literary activism. On literary activism / Deborah Brevoort; title: I know how it ends / Michael Klein; title: Outnumbering the dead / John McManus.