In BriefIn Brief
Short Takes on the Personal
Title rated 0 out of 5 stars, based on 0 ratings(0 ratings)
Book, 1999
Current format, Book, 1999, First edition, Available now.Book, 1999
Current format, Book, 1999, First edition, Available now. Offered in 0 more formatsAn exciting new anthology by the editors of the popular In Short , about which Publishers Weekly said: "Even readers skeptical of short-attention-span publishing will find these shorts addictive."
In their previous collection Judith Kitchen and Mary Paumier Jones coined the term "short" for those creative nonfiction pieces -- literary rather than informational, and characteristically short -- that are attracting our finest writers. Now, with a more introspective focus, this new collection emphasizes the personal as "a way of seeing the world, of expressing an interior life. It is intimate without being maudlin, it is private without being secret." 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-two authors here include the known -- John McPhee, Cythia 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. Patricia Hampl recalls meals at her grandmother's house, while Jane Brox contemplates the meaning of bread. 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.
In their previous collection Judith Kitchen and Mary Paumier Jones coined the term "short" for those creative nonfiction pieces -- literary rather than informational, and characteristically short -- that are attracting our finest writers. Now, with a more introspective focus, this new collection emphasizes the personal as "a way of seeing the world, of expressing an interior life. It is intimate without being maudlin, it is private without being secret." 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-two authors here include the known -- John McPhee, Cythia 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. Patricia Hampl recalls meals at her grandmother's house, while Jane Brox contemplates the meaning of bread. 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.
Title availability
About
Contributors
Subject and genre
Details
Publication
- New York : W.W. Norton, c1999.
Opinion
More from the community
Community lists featuring this title
There are no community lists featuring this title
Community contributions
There are no quotations from this title
There are no quotations from this title
From the community