The Writer's Home Companion: An Anthology of the World's Best Writing Advice, From Keats to Kunitz [Paperback]

Joan Bolker (Editor), Joan Bolker Ed. D. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805048936 | ISBN-13: 978-0805048933 | Publication Date: May 15, 1997 | Edition: 1st

A Boston Globe Bestseller

Writing is a solitary sport—but none of us can do it without good company at crucial moments. This spirited collection of inspiring and useful essays and exercises on the craft of writing is the next best thing to having an experienced writer at your side. These twenty-nine pieces, more than half of which have never been published in book form, include selections as unusual and diverse as behaviorist B. F. Skinner's "How to Discover What You Have to Say"; Brett Candlish Millier's investigation of the seventeen drafts of Elizabeth Bishop's poem "One Art"; Ursula Le Guin's "Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?"; Anne Eisenberg's "E-Mail and the New Epistolary Age"; and Nancy Mair's "The Writer's Thin Skin and Faint Heart." Other contributors include Gloria Naylor, Stanley Kunitz, Bernard Shaw, Natalie Goldberg, Anne Tyler, Rita Dove, Peter Elbow, and Gail Godwin.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There are a lot of compendia of writing advice around. The Writer's Home Companion strikes a deeper chord than many because its editor, Joan Bolker--who's also a psychologist--used to teach writers at Harvard as well as counsel them. Hence, many of these essays get inside the writer's head and heart: Anne Tyler recounts her "distractibility," Gail Godwin and Bolker herself examine those internal "watchers" that keep us from our best work, poet Patsy Cumming shares a terrific system for getting started, and manuscript reproductions from the likes of George Bernard Shaw and Henry James show us the struggles aren't ours alone.

From Library Journal

Bolker (World's Best Writing Advice, Holt, 1996), a seasoned writing professor and clinical psychologist, has compiled 29 essays and exercises by famous writers and writing teachers such as Ernest Hemingway, Anne Tyler, Rita Dove, and Peter Elbow. The pieces are arranged for quick reference according to subjects, such as preparation, beginning, revision, poetry, voice, audience, and practice. Bolker includes three of her own pieces, focusing on subjectivity and voice. Other essays in this sampler stress the writing process rather than the product. From B.F. Skinner's advice in "How To Discover What You Have To Say" to Keat's revision of "To Autumn," this eclectic anthology forms a useful handbook for beginner through professional writers. Although nearly half these works have been previously published, their collection as a whole is a worthwhile purchase.?Cathy Sabol, Northern Virginia Community Coll., Herndon, Va.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (May 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805048936
• ISBN-13: 978-0805048933
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Bolker, Ed.D., has taught and counseled writers at Harvard, where she cofounded the Writing Center; at University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she began The Language Place; and at Wellesley, Brandeis, and M.I.T., where she was a psyco-therapist and writing consultant. She has coached the authors of more than one hundred doctoral dissertations and is currently a clinical psychologist who works with many writers in her private practice. She is the author of Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of its Kind, December 7, 2006

By 

Anne F. Mareck - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Writer's Home Companion: An Anthology of the World's Best Writing Advice, From Keats to Kunitz (Paperback)

Bolker's approach is tailored specifically for writers and those who want to write. She hits all the difficult issues, offers many perspectives, and overall encourages and supports the serious writer. This is a book to pick up if you want to write, and a book to consult whenever you have trouble writing. Having worked for years as a psychological counselor for blocked writers, Bolker knows her topic and shares her insight. This collection is, imho, the best of its kind.

7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven, some good, some rehash of the familiar, April 6, 2001

By 

Suzanne E. Anderson "Author of Mrs. Tuesday's... (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Writer's Home Companion: An Anthology of the World's Best Writing Advice, From Keats to Kunitz (Paperback)

I am reading this book at the same time that I am reading Elizabeth Berg's book on writing: "Escaping into the Open". Both books deal with the process of going from beginning writing, to publishing. Berg speaks from her own experience. Bolker uses an anthology approach, gathering articles from several sources, and grouping them according to theme. Which is effective. However, if you've read any books on writing, some of the articles you'll find here will be too familiar, e.g. Natalie Goldberg's article. On the other hand, the B.F. Skinner article looks very promising. I was hoping for a book with greater insight, rather than a forum of what I've already read.