45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practicing What He Preaches, January 25, 2011
I've reached the point in my writing career where I sometimes have the opportunity to mentor newer writers. I don't teach in a university or any formal setting beyond writers' conferences. Still, I write, and I teach about it. Those factors combined with my admiration for Rosenblatt's work made me want to read this book.
Award- winning essayist, novelist, and playwright Rosenblatt has effectively lived the antithesis to an old saying. In his case, Those who can, teach. He writes, and writes well. And he also teaches writing --as he has for more than forty years.
In UNLESS IT MOVES THE HUMAN HEART, Rosenblatt takes a fresh approach to writing about writing: He presents his advice in story form. He tells the story of an imaginary (or, more accurately, composite) university writing class and allows readers to experience his students' interaction with their professor and his material.
This presentation adds layers of meaning and allows the author to present both good and bad examples without hitting readers over the head. The misunderstandings, trials, and triumphs that class members endure will most likely happen to readers who write. And the character flaws that mark and measure their writing will--at least by the end of the book--seem more familiar than otherwise.
Trite device? Thinly veiled vehicle for the communication of truth? Perhaps. But I found myself turning the pages in search of both students' questions and professor's wisdom. I read. I learned. And lines like "There's no purpose to writing unless you believe in significant things--right over wrong, good over evil" and "Voice is the knowledge of what you want to say" made me think--and moved me to improve my craft.
Read the book and inhale the sweet fragrance of story. Reread as you savor each morsel of truth.
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43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Something for Teachers, Something for Writers, January 29, 2011
TIME essayist Roger Rosenblatt, who also teaches writing at Stony Brook University on eastern Long Island, uses his experiences in the classroom of that school to shed light on writing and how it is taught. A teacher who writes myself (though not as well or as successfully as Rosenblatt), I picked the book up figuring I would be the perfect audience. In fact, I was. So what about you?
Right out of the gate, Rosenblatt admits that the reconstruction of conversations in his writing class cannot be considered verbatim or even totally accurate. Instead he says it is "fiction, top to bottom." Thus we have an idealized class with a wide array of "characters" from various backgrounds and with various strengths. This allows the teacher, Mr. Rosenblatt, to assume most every role a writing teacher might expect to play: cheerleader, adviser, questioner, philosopher, critic, and so forth. It also allows for much humor. That is, the would-be writers in class are a witty bunch as written by Rosenblatt. In that sense, the book is exciting, somewhat like the heady experiences of your own undergraduate years when fellow students might earnestly debate the fiction of Steinbeck, the essays of Bacon, or the poetry of Eliot.
The arc of the book follows the structure of Rosenblatt's course, called "Writing Everything": short stories first, followed by personal essays, with poetry last. As a teacher, I noted such fine advice as this: "If you find things you like in a student's work and you celebrate them, then the things you don't like -- the really awful parts -- will seem anomalous mistakes uncharacteristic of the writer, ones they can correct. The students will side with you against their own weaknesses. If, on the other hand, they begin to think they can't do anything right, they will get worse and worse." In another flourish, he states "...voice is merely the latest cliché to signify good writing. Its predecessor was 'authority.'"
I think teachers and writers alike can find something to glean from this short outing (155 pp.). The story and essay parts were stronger because the focus seemed more on Rosenblatt's thoughts and words, as given through the conceit of "actual dialogue" between his students and himself. For instance, he wisely advises his students to use the strategy of anticipation, not surprise, in story writing. Even O.Henry, who made surprise endings his bread and butter, only truly succeeded artistically with a few stories, such as "The Gift of the Magi."
The poetry section, alas, was a bit weaker. Clearly Rosenblatt is not the voice of experience here (he even admits that modern poetry is not to his liking), and so he is forced to overwrite the student dialogue in this chapter. The same thing happens in a chapter about writers' first reading experiences -- it simply retells stories of the students' earliest reading experiences (brace yourself for titles like MY FRIEND FLICKA and LASSIE) and tends to go on and on with little bang for the buck. I would have preferred more of Roger Rosenblatt the master teacher, more of his ideas for the classroom, and less of the students' badinage. Rosenblatt does share a few practical ideas, however, such as making students write about prompts he can recreate in the classroom like slamming a door (write about your associations with that act and sound) and singing "Happy Birthday" (write about your associations with that ubiquitous and ever-recurring song).
So do not be overly distracted by the star rating. Taking my cue from Rosenblatt himself, I prefer to stress all the good things this book HAS rather than all the wonderful things it COULD HAVE HAD. So what if I hoped for more of the master and less of his disciples? It's Rosenblatt's book, not mine, and the fact that I've spent this much time writing about it shows how important I think it is for readers to get it and judge for themselves. The hidden "professional student" and yearning "ultimate teacher" in you might just eat it up!
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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It will move your human heart, January 27, 2011
I took a class with Roger as an undergrad. I consider myself to be one of a very fortunate few who were able to do this. I look forward to continuing to work with Roger. He didn't talk about what he was writing often, but when he did, we always approached it like we were being given a very special treat that required a great reverence. He didn't talk about this book, though. I found out about it when he published the last part: a letter to his ungrateful students in the New Yorker. This book does something which is absolutely incredible: it takes you behind the person who wrote for TIME magazine and into the classroom to learn from him. I immediately pre-ordered this book and once it arrived, I found myself stealing moments to read more and more of his incredible insights and solutions. If you are looking for a book about the craft of writing, this book will not disappoint. If you are looking for a touching story about the behind the scenes aspect of the writing life, this book is also for you. The book is short and accessible, which is not to say that it does not say much. This book is a combination of a compelling narrative and a crash course in what Roger has learned as a writing professor and writer. This book would make a great substitute for those who cannot go to Southampton's writing conferences, as well as a great book for those who are considering pursuing the writer's life or who are considering Southampton's MFA in writing.
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