Short Takes: Brief Encounters with Contemporary Nonfiction [Paperback]

Judith Kitchen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 2005

Invigorating creative nonfiction—short, but never slight—gathered by the co-editor of In Short and In Brief.

In the years since the perennially popular In Short and In Brief were published, readers have come to delight in the deft focus of the succinct piece we now call The Short. Extending this trend, Short Takes presents over seventy-five writers whose range and style demonstrate the myriad ways we humans have of telling our truths. Themes develop and speak to or collide with one another: musings about parents, childhood, sports, weather, war, solitude, nature, loss—and, of course, love. The stellar roster of contributors includes well-known writers—Verlyn Klinkenborg, Jo Ann Beard, David Sedaris, Dorothy Allison, Salman Rushdie, and Terry Tempest Williams—along with Michael Perry, Mark Spragg, Jane Brox, and others whose literary stars are clearly rising. Each short—whether a few paragraphs or reaching 2,000 words, and reflecting almost every way nonfiction can be written—invites us to experience the power of the small to move, persuade, and change us.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judith Kitchen, poet, novelist, and essayist, lives in Port Townsend, Washington, where she and her husband have established a low-residency writing program. She is poetry reviewer of The Georgia Review.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (July 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393326004
• ISBN-13: 978-0393326000
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book for Teachers, August 14, 2005

By 

Matthew Fahnestock (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Short Takes: Brief Encounters with Contemporary Nonfiction (Paperback)

As a high school English teacher, I have been searching for a good collection of SHORT, contemporary examples of well-crafted non-fiction to share with my students because our curriculum is seriously lacking in this area. Providing a wide range of subjects written in beautiful prose with strong vocabulary, SHORT TAKES fit the bill perfectly.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting reading, February 3, 2009

By 

Brad G. (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Short Takes: Brief Encounters with Contemporary Nonfiction (Paperback)

This is a fine collection of nonfiction. Creative nonfiction is new to me -- that is I didn't know that's what this style of writing is called -- and this has been interesting and entertaining reading. Thanks for this collection.