Customer Reviews

The Next American Essay

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Next American Essay will really make you think about the genre-
What is the essay? How do we define it and why? What are our expectations and do they matter?
If you are looking for a traditional anthology this book is not for you, but if you are interested in exploring the possibilities of the essay, this book is a find! Next American Essay offers the reader a lot, but most of it is not on the surface. This is not an anthology that is easy to skim through, but it's definitely worth a serious read.

...make me laugh. This is the best anthology of essays that anyone's even tried to produce in the past two decades. On top of that it's one of the most inovative anthologies of any genre category that I know of. What's missing is something of David Foster Wallace's more wilder side. Needs something from Ben Marcus, Harry Matthews, Joanne Beard, Susan Howe, and Lynn Hejinian.

The anthology is made up of about 30 essays by biggies like McPhee and Joan Didion and David Foster Wallace. Essays that everyone's read before. So it's not an anthology you turn to because you want to figure out what's new out there. Really it's anthology you turn to for the sake of the sensibility behind it, John D'Agata's own voice that somehow manages to creep into the anthology and carry the entire 500 pages through on a whimiscal story about why he loves essays. It's got to be the most charming anthology I've ever read. At times bold (many of the essays aren't traditinally thought of as essays), at times funny, sentimental, outright smart, the anthology is trying to show what the essay has in its potential. It's a huge success. But what makes it especially thrilling are the 30 extra essay we get from D'Agata himself, introductions that stand on their own like jewels embedded in the history of a genre.

The essays in this anthology defy genre catagories. You've got the story that Jamaica Kincaid wrote about growing up in Antigua, and the story that takes the form of a recipe by the awesome Harry Mathews, and a poem by James Wright for heck's sake. Everything according to this anthology is an essay, I mean. What the anthology argues is a little far fetched, but this is the kind of experimenting that we need more of, I think. What unites the selections of "ESSAYS" are the introductions to each of them by John D'Agata, an experimentalist if ever there was one. Sometimes his own whimsies overtake the essays and actually seem more interesting than the selections, but in general this is a book that itself defies genre definition by rewriting the idea of an anthology.

what's an essay? what's a genre? what's an anthology for godsake? john d'agata, our lyric essay progenitor, maps the past quarter decade of the essay's trajectory in a lyrical and sharp-edged focus on these every questions, challenging not only the very idea of what an essay is, but also the whole notion of what anthologies are supposed to be. this is not a staid study of a dusty academic form; it's a living, breathing celebration of an under sung literary form. and d'agata, this genre's loudest enthusiast, is a the perfect guide.

For those who are interested in writing the lyric essay, this is an excellent collection of essays woven together by the editor with glimpses of each decade. A very worthwhile read for those interested in fresh forms of essay writing.

An amazingly well written and eclectic group of essays. If you are an essayist or a memoir writer (or wannabe), then this book is an absolute must!

Apparently it wasn't enough that D'Agata "redefined the essay"--as Annie Dillard put it--in his first book Halls of Fame. Now he's somehow redefined the anthology. Next he tries his hand at cookbooks.

There's no doubt that D'Agata sets the bar high - over here in Europe, who knew? - and there is much here to astonish. I like the proud emphasis on 'American' (that's telling us!) - but how come one Italo-Mexican slipped in under the wire? My only caveat is that contributors sometimes teeters on the edge of preciousness; one sips San Pellegrino ('The water tingles my lips') while recalling 'that the German word for creator - Schopfer - also means scoop, ladle, dipper'; (unfortunately she fails to recall that it should have an umlaut - affects the pronunciation, y'know). Another remarks 'It began with no ado'; surely the correct cliché is 'without ado' (with the optional add-on of 'further'). But quibbles and personal preferences aside (on balance I prefer the men, Sontag a standout exception) there is much to engage with; the editor's discriminating presence, like a master sommelier, hovers throughout.
A word of caution: anyone who claimed to have read every word of this would, I think, be lying - this is not by and large 'fine writing' in the traditional, so to speak Johnsonian sense - but all the more kudos to the editor who has evidently done so (his dedication matches that of David Lehman in the poetry field) - and at least here it gets a handsome burial.

George W.S. Trow's essay "Needs" is a short, but hysterical and brilliant satire on American society in the 20th century. Trow beings his essay on how our country is entirely consumed around each individual's selfish needs. Everyone does not "want"(227) something from you, they "need"(227) something from you. This leads into the legalities of our country that imply they really don't want to burden their consumers with these "simple" forms, but "need"(227) to for their own safety. In other words, how the company presents these legal agreements is absolutely ridiculous. All they are trying to do is save their own ass and if you want to rent their car, then you better sign you rights over.
The car agreement Trow discusses is also a symbol of how dependent out country is on not only huge corporations, but also the entire concept of materialism. Consumers "need"(227) material goods so badly that they are willing to divulge private information to a company that is flat out lying to them. The car company presents an image of giving you luxury options and "splendid choices"(227). In reality they are giving you a dinky little car, that's day rate is way overpriced, but don't forget you "need"(227) this car to get where you are going.
Everyone, everywhere is trying to sell you something and Trow emphasizes on that point. Advertisers use psychological methods to make you realize who you are and who you want to become. The example Trow uses is the Nike model that just keeps running, "not asking a single question" (228). The advertiser is trying to appeal to you with a man that you can relate to. But don't ask any questions because if you do you will discover this buff, million-dollar model is nothing like you. Instead "Just do it"(229) and sign your name away on those legal agreements. It is brilliant how Trow can incorporate so many subjects and issues in just one paragraph!
I love the fact that he begins to toy with your mind by making fun of other people, but by the end you realize you are one of these people. Not only does he mock the American way of making goals and having high ambitions, but he plays on the fact that we barely have time for what we are already doing. America is such a fast passed society. We are always trying to get somewhere (hence the car example), do something and plan for something else.
In his statement, "And you are already at a level at which you can breathe and hold a job at the same time! Whew! Am I impressed" (228). Trow is flat out making fun of us! We are so consumed with our own lives and how busy we are. We think we are accomplishing so much by not spending the time to ask questions or actually read the car agreement. Instead we are signing our personal information away along with our "hard earned" money.
At this point, Trow returns to the concept of materialism and how our country is completely centered around money. He also addresses how these companies not only taking our money and taking our identity (to sell to other companies and make money off us), but also make us jump through loops to actually get the car. He uses the example of an essay and multiple-choice test, mocking what our education system is based upon. Then he returns to all the obligations you must meet in order for the company to meet your "needs." And of course after standing in line for so long you want to be on the road to grandmothers house you agree to whatever the agent says. Who by the way has repeated for millionth time "are you sure you want to decline the collision?" (229).
This essay is a must read! Trow's satire throughout it is hysterical. The ending of the essay he satirizes so many notions that it makes you want to read it over and over. And each time you see another way he teases Americans on how they live their everyday life.