Conversations with American Women Writers [Paperback]

Sarah Anne Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2003 | ISBN-10: 1584653485 | ISBN-13: 978-1584653486

Sena Jeter Naslund describes the origins of Ahab's Wife in "a vision and a voice." Ann Patchett mourns the ways in which the reality of a novel may fail to live up to her conception of it. Andrea Barrett, a winner of the National Book Award and the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, nevertheless characterizes herself as "a very clumsy writer" in her early drafts.

The seventeen women interviewed by Sarah Anne Johnson are some of the most popular and accomplished writers at work today--award winners, critically acclaimed, popular with book clubs. Steeped in a thorough knowledge of each writer's work, Johnson's questions range from technical issues of craft to the nurturing of fictional ideas to the daily practice of writing. The authors offer insights into their own works that will delight their fans and also provide practical advice that will be cherished by aspiring writers. From Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's reflections on her experience of immigration to Lois-Ann Yamanaka's insights on the question of a character's voice, these interviews combine the personal with the professional experience of the writing life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the ever-expanding writers-on-writing genre demonstrates, writers are often remarkably wise and generous instructors. Here, Johnson, a fiction writer herself and program coordinator of the YMCA National Writer's Voice program, interviews 17 female scribes to create 17 miniature instruction books on craft. Elizabeth McCracken, Aimee Bender, Lois-Ann Yamanaka and others recount their tussles with blank pages, time management and flat characters. Asking the writers to discuss elements of their books, Johnson also delves into the more mysterious regions of the creative process (how you know when your novel is finished, for instance). The interviews are not always tightly or even logically organized, and Johnson routinely traces over the same ground, but the questions she poses provoke thoughtful responses from her subjects, who have plenty of insight into the work they do. We learn that, other than developing good listening skills, short story writer Amy Bloom (A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You) sees no connection between her work as a therapist and her writing (writing, unlike being a therapist, "is a narcissistic event"). Novelist Sena Jeter Naslund (Ahab's Wife) candidly reveals that she struggled with plot, character and theme. Ann Patchett (Bel Canto) discusses her self-instructive practice of "plagiarizing" her favorite authors. Johnson was right to select so many subjects who teach in MFA programs: their enthusiasm for language and faith in the awesome power of revision will be encouraging to any writer at any stage of her career. B&w photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

"How did you get started writing?" "How do your story ideas come to you?" "Who are some of the writers that have influenced you?" These are a few of the basic questions lobbed to women fiction writers by interviewer Johnson in this lively and revealing collection of author interviews. Naturally, Johnson discusses the specifics of each writer's work, but her emphasis on inspiration and craft unifies the collection, and by the time the reader has absorbed all 17 interviews, she or he will have a strong sense of the challenges contemporary women fiction writers face, why they write, what they hope to accomplish, and how the reception of their work does or does not affect their writing process. Johnson's eloquent and giving interviewees include Sue Miller, Andrea Barrett, Jill McKorkle, Ann Patchett, Gish Jen, and Sena Jeter Naslund, and her collection will entice and satisfy serious readers, wanna-be writers, and book-club members. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: UPNE (December 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584653485
• ISBN-13: 978-1584653486
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,801,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Especially helpful for book groups, February 5, 2004

By 

Georgette Wilson (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversations with American Women Writers (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I am in a bookgroup and thought it might be interesting for us to read, since many of the writers we've read are in it. It's also given us great ideas about other books to read. Now we try to do a book and an interview each month, and it's amazing how much it has changed our discussions! I especially like that the book only has women writers, since our group, and most book groups I know, are women, and so we usually relate to the author in more ways than just her writing. I thought this book was incredibly interesting and would recommend it highly, especially for any book group.

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for writers, January 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Conversations with American Women Writers (Paperback)

This book is for anyone who's ever struggled with his or her own writing and wants to learn from some of today's critically-acclaimed writers. But it's also for everyone who's interested in knowing how fiction is wrestled from the ether to the ground, from the opening sentence to the conclusion. While the collection of interviews singles out women writers, it focuses on gender-less problems and issues inherent in literary writing. There's no "loftinesss" either in the advice that's given. It's as if these writers were bound and determined to give only the straight talk concerning their failures and successes.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiction lovers MUST read, January 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Conversations with American Women Writers (Paperback)

Ms. Johnson has written an amazing book of interviews with 17 of the foremost and upcoming women fiction writers today. I couldn't put it down! It was like being in the living room talking to my favorite writers like Sue Miller and Amy Bloom about how they write, what they think, how they create such incredible stories. There were writers I didn't know, and it made me WANT to read those writers. I belong to a book club and now we are ALL reading this book and discussing which new books to choose. Every fiction lover must read this book.