The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present (Paperback)

~ Phillip Lopate (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Essayist Lopate ( Against Joie de Vivre , Poseidon Pr., 1991, among others) has selected and introduced some 75 personal essays, covering over 400 years, from the East as well as the West, in an attempt to show the development of the genre. The result is a fascinating overview that could be useful in teaching situations. Given the personal nature of the pieces, it may also appeal to general readers who enjoy biography and autobiography. Lopate considers the personal essay to be a sort of friendship based on "the supposition that there is a certain unity to human experience." He devotes extensive space to Montaigne, "the patron saint of personal essayists," but we also hear from unfamiliar voices, such as a tenth-century Japanese court lady, and from special branches of the essay, such as the American humorists. Of interest to both academic and public libraries.
- Nancy Shires, East Carolina Univ., Greenville, N.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A wonderful book. The most charming smorgasbord  imaginable of essays from around the world."  -- Diane Cole, USA Today.  

"Without a doubt, this is the most  nourishing essay collection I've read in years."  -- Susan Burmeister-Brown, Portland  Oregonian.

"A labor of deeply  felt love and keenly honed scholarship by an  essay authority who knows his territory down to his  bones." -- Christian Science  Monitor.

"The best available [essay  anthology] no matter how crowded the field."  -- Chicago Tribune.  

"The striking thing is how much Lopate has managed  to pack in, and how high a standard he has  managed to maintain." -- John Gross, New  York Newsday.

"Packed with  personality and beguiling first-person prose... of  reminders of the perils and pleasures of the  craft." -- The Wall Street  Journal. -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 777 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; 1st Anchor Books Pbk. Ed edition (January 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038542339X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385423397
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,294 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading to further enhance your writing !!, January 8, 2002

By	Rizzo (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

It's clear that reading good literature leads to improved writing. This anthology is a superb collection, selected and introduced by Phillip Lopate. Lopate is said to be one of the best essayists and critics of the personal essay. The book identifies itself as a "Teachers & Writers Collaborative Book". It is absolutely wonderful, a thick, heavy book full of pleasure and is dubbed as the "first anthology to celebrate this lively, fertile genre."

In his introduction, Lopate says of the personal essay: The hallmark of the personal essay is its intimacy. The writer seems to be speaking directly into your ear, confiding everything from gossip to wisdom. Through sharing thoughts, memories, desires, complaints, and whimsies, the personal essayist sets up a relationship with the reader, a dialogue, a friendship, if you will, based on identification, understanding, testiness, and companionship.

The introduction is with rich detail of everything you ever needed to know about the "personal essay". He delves into his selection, rationale and arrangement of this book. As I said, everything you ever needed to know is here!

The collection consist of 75 personal essays, spanning over 400 years. The first section is called the forerunners, these are the earliest dating from 1600's, including: Seneca, Plutarch, Kenko, Shonagon, Hsiu, Michel De Montaigne. Then, the rise of the English essay: Abraham Cowley, Addison & Steele, Samuel Johnson, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginia Woolf, Orwell, etc.

Another section is titled "Other Cultures, Other Continents", some listed are: Ivan Turgenev, Lu Hsun, Jorge Luis Borges, Roland Barthes, etc. Last section is titled "American Scene" includes: Thoreau, Thurber, McCarthy, Fitzgerald, E.B. White, Baldwin, Didion, Lopate, etc., etc.

Then, he has all essays in a table of contents categorized by "Theme and Form". Some types of theme are are: ambition, city life, country living, death, drugs & alcohol, disability & illness, food, family ties, leisure, love and sexuality, music, nature, walking, race & ethnicity etc. etc.

The classifications of essays under "Form" list: analytical meditation, consolation, diatribe, humor, list, mossaic, memoir, etc., etc. Many of the essays may be cross-referenced into a few different classifications.

If you consider writing essay, this is a great tool and a real keeper. ..MzRizz

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Anthology!!!, November 23, 2004

By	JR Pinto (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Laurie Stone, the essayist and creative writing teacher, recommended this book to me as the most essential volume on the personal essay. I could not agree more. The editor, Philip Lopate, is one of the most well-respected authors of the personal essay and he has compiled this anthology of pieces from the classical era to the present. The book works well for readers and writers alike. Lopate, in his lengthy introduction, gives an overview of the personal essay, and instructions on how to use this book as a learning tool. It is divided into several sections, beginning with the essay's forerunners in the classical period. Michel De Montaigne, the father of the personal essay, gets his own section. Personally, I did not find it useful to read the book cover-to-cover - I read it in reverse. I started out with the most recent, contemporary essays - those most accessible to me - and went backwards in order to see the devolution of the essay, as it were.

The essay is fast becoming one of my favorite forms - it is short, funny, and insightful. I highly recommend this book to ANYONE.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Anthology on the Market for Personal Essays, October 18, 1999

By	Jadepearl "geezer geek" (Wandering, USA) - See all my reviews

A book that has travelled with me for years and well worth all the space in my limited luggage space. I would definitely take this book to a desert island and it would be a book that I would grab off its shelf if my house was on fire.

Time has made me appreciate the voices contained within its cover greatly.