A Walk Between Heaven and Earth: A Personal Journal on Writing and the Creative Process (Paperback)

by Burghild Nina Holzer (Author) "The same is true for a journal..." (more)
Key Phrases: Mount Shasta, Spirit Lake

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Holzer's first book, a personal journal on writing and the creative process, is a dreamtime meditation on inner and outer journeying--a walk on a landscape of metaphor, on a spiritual path to self-discovery. "Talking to paper is talking to the divine . . . each time you scratch on it, you trace part of yourself, and thus part of the world, and part of the grammar of the universe." Jewelled with keen-eyed observations, reflective musings and prescriptive insights, this is a passionately companionable guide for those who wish to explore the process of writing. In her journal, Holzer chronicles her experiences as a student of the journal form and as a teacher of creative writing interweaving meditations, exercises and travelogue. She addresses her brother who died tragically, her dying father and a child never born. Unbridled and strewn with New Age locution, the journal entries are often fanciful veering into far-fetched and anthropomorphic terrain. But by and large Holzer's prose has a lovely lyricism, resonance and quiet power. Holzer agrees with Joseph Campbell: "I don't think we are looking for meaning. I think we are looking for the experience of being alive." And at the heart of her narrative is this search for the intensity of aliveness, for the tools and writerly craft necessary "to ride the thunderbolt of the moment and feel that it is real." For fellow questers, Holzer's journalistic walk will sound a clarion call to write.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
How else to write a book on journals except to keep a journal? That is just what Holzer has done, exploring in journal form her ideas on how diaries can be used artistically, psychologically, and creatively. The tragic death of her brother during the year she kept this journal adds dramatic tension and depth to her research as she intertwines dreams, fantasies, and everyday life with theoretical and philosophical musings. An innovative, interesting approach to a popular subject. Pat Monaghan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (May 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517880962
• ISBN-13: 978-0517880968
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #711,933 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book made my writing more exciting and my life more fun, May 21, 1999

By	[e-mail] David Merritt (Sacramento, California) - See all my reviews

A Walk Between Heaven and Earth is a great book not only for creative writers, but for everyone who wants to lead a more satisfying life. Holzer's journal entries transmit a deep understanding of what it means to be a writer and what it means to be fully alive. I felt gently and powerfully guided by her personal life experiences to break away from the analytical rules that have kept me from writing what really moves me. And my own writing process has become ten times more exciting than it ever was in years of college classes and work as a magazine editor. This book has helped me embrace my own pain and joy in a way I had never considered.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read and you will sigh..., September 13, 1999

By A Customer

Who would've thought to write a book about the journaling process in a journal format? Duh! Full of epiphany after epiphany and lovely contemplation.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I just don't get it., September 14, 2004

By	J. Elliott (Slough, Berkshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love journalling books and have a wide collection of them. This is the first one I have started but been unable to finish. I felt really disappointed after reading the glowing reviews for this book on the website - but I'm afraid I just don't get it. The "entries", which I feel were very contrived, taught me nothing and sometimes seemed so forced and self conscious that I found myself scoffing at them. Ms Holzer herself says that she kept another journal whilst writing this one - I think it was that fact that made me realise what a contrived thing the "journalling journal" was. We would have been better served if she had published extracts from her "real" journal, as there are definate signs of her being a fine writer. The only true to life parts of the book were when she was talking about the tragic death of her brother - and even then, you felt that the real story of her loss was being recorded somewhere else.
I'm sorry if it's just me who doesn't understand what the author is trying to do here, but I got the impression that she wasn't very clear herself of what she expected the outcome to be.