Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "A strawberry changed my life..." (more)
Key Phrases: own fruitflesh, Fruitflesh Meditation, Pattiann Rogers, Emily Dickinson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When she was a senior in high school, Gayle Brandeis had an epiphany with a strawberry: instructed by a teacher to really look at the fruit, she wondered if she had every really looked at anything before. The poem she wrote that day "launched" her onto her "life's path" and changed her writing forever. In Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write, Brandeis uses fruit as a metaphor for sensual and creative exploration and women's bodies, too to meld writing advice and exercises with meditations that use produce to illuminate prose. ("Let your writing be like this feast [of a mango] bold, sensual, unapologetic.") Cynics and skeptics beware: with its garden-lush prose and fervent guilelessness, this is a book for the open-hearted believer.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Gayle Brandeis shows us how to write sense-soaked prose and poetry that celebrates the embodiment of the life!" -- Oriah Mountain Dreamer, author of The Invitation and The Dance

Anyone immersing herself in Fruitflesh is sure to find her writing liberated, and enriched by the many stimulating exercises. -- Susan Perry, Ph.D., author of Writing in Flow

Fruitflesh calls for some very juicy feasting! -- Sark, author of Succulent Wild Woman

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (March 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062517244
• ISBN-13: 978-0062517241
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,039,297 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely exhilarating--the one book on writing you need!, March 5, 2002

By	JT "ultimato" (NJ) - See all my reviews

Oh my, oh my. There are a great many books out there on writing, but never have I seen one quite as amazing as this. Full of poetry and the lushest images around, Fruitflesh finds inspiration in the most surprising ways--and best of all, it does it effortlessly and with a great deal of fun and beauty. I just loved it--so much so that I bought two more copies to give to writer friends as gifts. And oh yes, it's just the kind of book you want around when you feel parched of ideas. Soothing and seductive and just wonderful. It does what all great art does--it gets you to look at the world differently.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing way to jumpstart your writing., November 26, 2003

By	APD "blackspiral" (Texas) - See all my reviews

Unlike many writing books that offer random topics and one-liners to inspire your creativity, Fruitflesh takes your mind into your own life, mind and body from the perspective of a fruit -- organic, raw, growing, changing. On days when I think there is nothing to write about, I open Fruitflesh. If I don't find something new in myself to explore, I at least find a new way of seeing the writing process and how my life is very much connected with it. Fruitflesh sits on my writing desk, constantly waiting to be thumbed through and explored.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intoxicating read, Fruitflesh is ambrosia for women write, April 3, 2002

By	Tina Waren (Tullahoma,TN) - See all my reviews

Filled with beautiful prose, unique exercises, and womanly affirmations. Gayle Brandeis rouses the muse and saturates the senses.

Using the growing seasons as a theme, the author encourages you to write fully, release inhibitions, and let the fruitfulness flow forth. Each section of the book begins, and ends, with a "Fruitflesh Meditation" centered around a particular fruit. These exercises inspire and challenge the reader to delve into their senses and probe the woman, and writer, within.

Every woman should have this book on their shelf. Whether you write or not, you can benefit from the exercises. Enlightening and practical advice scattered like seeds across the page, blooming with love and self-acceptance. Ms. Brandeis encourages women to accept their bodies and the rich fruit they produce, both in writing and personal endeavors. Revel in your own fruitflesh where you may find not only a writing voice but yourself.

Fruitflesh is drenched with creativity. Its sticky sweetness caresses your mind and leaves you hungry for more. You haven't lived until you've had the "Fruitflesh" experience...