Meredith Maran
Auteur de Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do
A propos de l'auteur
Œuvres de Meredith Maran
Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do (2013) — Directeur de publication — 180 exemplaires
Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature (2016) 102 exemplaires
50 Ways to Support Lesbian and Gay Equality: The Complete Guide to Supporting Family, Friends, Neighborsor Yourself... (2005) 83 exemplaires
Oeuvres associées
One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Polyamory, Househusbandry, Single… (2009) — Contributeur — 111 exemplaires
Dear John, I Love Jane: Women Write About Leaving Men for Women (2010) — Contributeur — 99 exemplaires
Are We Born Racist? New Insights from Neuroscience and Positive Psychology (2010) — Contributeur — 39 exemplaires
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Date de naissance
- 1951-08-21
- Sexe
- female
- Nationalité
- USA
- Lieu de naissance
- New York, New York, USA
- Lieux de résidence
- Oakland, California, USA
New York, New York, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA - Études
- Bronx High School of Science, New York, New York, USA
- Professions
- journalist
book critic
novelist - Agent
- Linda Loewenthal
Membres
Critiques
It is what it says it is, and it is a good read. I'm very new at the memoirist biz, and this was helpful, thought provoking and insightful.
Memoirs. Love them or hate them?
If you love them you'll definitely want to check out this book. If you hate them...you also may want to check this one out as it might help you appreciate memoirs (or, I suppose, it may solidify your hatred. Que sera, sera).
Although the publisher's blurb above is aimed toward writers, this book will also be of interest to readers of memoirs and an excellent resource for book groups that read memoirs.
When looking at a collection of essays featuring various writers, I tend to focus in on and enjoy those chapters by (or about) authors I already know and love. What was exciting for me about this book is that I was turned on to writers I haven't read or, in some cases, hadn't yet heard of.
There are twenty writers featured:
Ishmael Beah
Kate Christensen
Pearl Cleage
Pat Conroy
Kelly Corrigan
Edwidge Danticat
Meghan Daum
Nick Flynn
A. M. Homes
Sue Monk Kidd
Anne Lamott
Sandra Tsing Loh
James McBride
Dani Shapiro
David Sheff
Darin Strauss
Cheryl Strayed
Ayelet Waldman
Jesmyn Ward
Edmund White
Each chapter follows this format:
-An opening quote from the writer's work
-A short intro to the writer
-A text box listing the writer's vitals (birthday, home, family, social media, etc)
-A text box listing his or her collected works
-Then comes the meat: the writer starts off by answering the question, "Why I write about myself"and takes of from there for a few or more pages, writing about their writing experience
-The chapter ends with a bullet pointed list of advice for memoir writers
I really dig this format. It gives the reader a well-rounded and consistent introduction to each writer and then lets the writer say what he or she wants to say. I now want to read everything that all twenty writers wrote (Been there, done that only in the case of Pat Conroy). I must admit that there are some popular memoirs written by a few of these writers that I avoided because they were so popular. (Yes, I'm one of those readers who sometimes avoids popular books. When I eventually read them I tend to enjoy the hell out of them.) I will keep this book in my reference section. It will be helpful to re-read a writer's chapter either before or after I read their memoir. It certainly encouraged me to press on with my own memoir writing.
In a book filled with helpful advice and great insights on just about every page, here are two that resonated with me:
*Favorite quote from an writer I'm familiar with: "Memoirs hurt people. Secrets hurt people. The question to ask yourself is, if you tell your story, will it do enough good to make it worth hurting people?" ~ Pat Conroy
*Favorite quote from a writer I haven't yet read: "I firmly believe that there are things we already know and spend a lot of time resisting. You can try, but the amount of energy you spend trying not to know what you already know will be exhausting." ~ A.M. Homes
http://wildmoobooks.blogspot.com/2016/02/memoirs-love-them-or-hate-them-why-we.h...
… (plus d'informations)
If you love them you'll definitely want to check out this book. If you hate them...you also may want to check this one out as it might help you appreciate memoirs (or, I suppose, it may solidify your hatred. Que sera, sera).
Although the publisher's blurb above is aimed toward writers, this book will also be of interest to readers of memoirs and an excellent resource for book groups that read memoirs.
When looking at a collection of essays featuring various writers, I tend to focus in on and enjoy those chapters by (or about) authors I already know and love. What was exciting for me about this book is that I was turned on to writers I haven't read or, in some cases, hadn't yet heard of.
There are twenty writers featured:
Ishmael Beah
Kate Christensen
Pearl Cleage
Pat Conroy
Kelly Corrigan
Edwidge Danticat
Meghan Daum
Nick Flynn
A. M. Homes
Sue Monk Kidd
Anne Lamott
Sandra Tsing Loh
James McBride
Dani Shapiro
David Sheff
Darin Strauss
Cheryl Strayed
Ayelet Waldman
Jesmyn Ward
Edmund White
Each chapter follows this format:
-An opening quote from the writer's work
-A short intro to the writer
-A text box listing the writer's vitals (birthday, home, family, social media, etc)
-A text box listing his or her collected works
-Then comes the meat: the writer starts off by answering the question, "Why I write about myself"and takes of from there for a few or more pages, writing about their writing experience
-The chapter ends with a bullet pointed list of advice for memoir writers
I really dig this format. It gives the reader a well-rounded and consistent introduction to each writer and then lets the writer say what he or she wants to say. I now want to read everything that all twenty writers wrote (Been there, done that only in the case of Pat Conroy). I must admit that there are some popular memoirs written by a few of these writers that I avoided because they were so popular. (Yes, I'm one of those readers who sometimes avoids popular books. When I eventually read them I tend to enjoy the hell out of them.) I will keep this book in my reference section. It will be helpful to re-read a writer's chapter either before or after I read their memoir. It certainly encouraged me to press on with my own memoir writing.
In a book filled with helpful advice and great insights on just about every page, here are two that resonated with me:
*Favorite quote from an writer I'm familiar with: "Memoirs hurt people. Secrets hurt people. The question to ask yourself is, if you tell your story, will it do enough good to make it worth hurting people?" ~ Pat Conroy
*Favorite quote from a writer I haven't yet read: "I firmly believe that there are things we already know and spend a lot of time resisting. You can try, but the amount of energy you spend trying not to know what you already know will be exhausting." ~ A.M. Homes
http://wildmoobooks.blogspot.com/2016/02/memoirs-love-them-or-hate-them-why-we.h...
… (plus d'informations)
A great little book about the best and worst of times from 20 authors who currently enjoy more success than they ever imagined.
Prix et récompenses
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Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 11
- Aussi par
- 3
- Membres
- 744
- Popularité
- #34,144
- Évaluation
- 3.7
- Critiques
- 26
- ISBN
- 29
- Favoris
- 1
I feel as though this book barely scratched the surface of memoir writing.