111 pages
English language
Published March 17, 1990 by HarperPerennial.
A meditative reflection in anecdote and vignette on Annie Dillard's writing process. Beautiful and vivid prose.
Annie Dillard has written eleven books, including the memoir of her parents, An American Childhood; the Northwest pioneer epic The Living; and the nonfiction narrative Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. A gregarious recluse, she is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Beautiful essays and encouragement on the writing process. Dillard is like an old friend.
Dette er ikke en bok for hvem som helst - og med det plasserer jeg meg fint inn under kategorien åndssnobb - til det er den for spesiell i tematikken og for krevende i i sin snirklede og fragmenterte stil. Men hvis du vil jobbe litt med teksten du leser, bli utfordret av kreative setninger, jobbe litt med å komme forfatteren unger huden, så er dette en fabelaktig vakker bok om utfordringene som ligger der og venter på hvem som helst som i det hele tatt har tenkt tanken å skrive en bok. Den beveger seg som Dillards How to teach a Stone to Talk i grenselandet mellom natur og kultur, og danser litt på skrivebordene til kjente, klassiske forfattere. Det er veldig vakkert, selv om livet som forfatter blir beskrevet som en tung kamp i hardt, isolert landskap uten kontakt med omverdenen. Litt amerikansk Abruzzo over dette. Anbefales.
This book is powerful and tiny. There's beauty on every page, beauty that conveys, perfectly, what it is like to be a writer. I will need to read it again someday, so I can give it the time it deserves. Maybe a chapter a day over coffee in the first hours of my day? I think that's how I could absorb it best, when my mind is still soft with waking and able to luxuriate in the sentences more than I could in the later parts of the day.
But, this is a book that, at least to me as of right now, doesn't always make a lot of sense. It's a collection of anecdotes turned metaphor meant to capture what it means to live "The Writing Life". Most of the time I related to what she said with enthusiastic nods and the occasional knowing giggle. Other times Dillard seemed …
This book is powerful and tiny. There's beauty on every page, beauty that conveys, perfectly, what it is like to be a writer. I will need to read it again someday, so I can give it the time it deserves. Maybe a chapter a day over coffee in the first hours of my day? I think that's how I could absorb it best, when my mind is still soft with waking and able to luxuriate in the sentences more than I could in the later parts of the day.
But, this is a book that, at least to me as of right now, doesn't always make a lot of sense. It's a collection of anecdotes turned metaphor meant to capture what it means to live "The Writing Life". Most of the time I related to what she said with enthusiastic nods and the occasional knowing giggle. Other times Dillard seemed to travel beyond the edges of my experience. I knew there was a point being made, but was unable to latch onto it. Hence the desire for another reading at a later date.
If you enjoy writing, or reading about writing, this book is worth your time. It's short and relatively easy to read. I recommend it.
