The Spirit of Writing: Classic and Contemporary Essays Celebrating the Writing Life (New Consciousness Reader) (Paperback)

by Mark Waldman (Author) "The writer, perhaps more than any of his fellow artists, has access to the human subconscious..." (more)
Key Phrases: mth permission, ith permission, Henry Miller, New York, Basket Balls (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Therapist, writer and creativity expert Mark Waldman (Love Games) offers The Spirit of Writing: Classic and Contemporary Essays Celebrating the Writing Life, including five dozen pieces by luminaries like Joseph Conrad, Erica Jong, Sylvia Plath, Henry Miller and Octavio Paz. In "Man Eats Car," Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) declares, "Writing is everything, unconditional.... If you think big enough to let people eat cars, you will be able to see that ants are elephants and men are women." Pierre Joris (Poasis) poeticizes the "interface between language and the world": "it becomes clear that this letter fell off on its own accord somehow & that it is in the gap between mother-tongue/other-tongue that I am written. This gap, this emptiness, is liable to take my breath away." This anthology will provide writers of all stripes with guidance and inspiration for their psyche and their craft.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This collection of essays explores the inner lives of writers, giving a glimpse into the creative mind. A therapist specializing in the creative process, Waldman has chosen essays from such well-known authors as Mark Twain, Sylvia Plath, Annie Dillard, Erica Jong, and Joseph Conrad, along with others published here for the first time. These essayists discuss their challenges and triumphs, recall cherished memories, and offer advice to beginners. Author and artist Laura Cerwinske talks about how writing helped her out of depression, Anne Lamott explains how she moves beyond her terrible first drafts, and Gail Godwin learns to overcome her inner critic, the Watcher, who appears every time she sits down to compose. While books about writers and the creative process abound, this collection stands out because of the large and varied number of artists represented and the secrets they reveal about how and why they write. The book will be invaluable for those who aspire to write as well as for all who love language and reading. Recommended for public and academic libraries. Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; First Edition edition (August 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585421278
• ISBN-13: 978-1585421275
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #511,537 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pearls of Wisdom, February 7, 2006

By	L. Shirley "Laurie's Boomer Views" (fountain valley, ca United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Mark Robert Waldman has compiled a treasure chest full of shining works to be savored by writers at any level.Contributors to the anthology, "The Spirit of Writing: Classic and Contemporary Essays Celebrating the Writing Life",are a who's who list in the world of writing. All the works are aimed at those that love the written word, including their own.

Essays and poems by the likes of Authors past and present, Mark Twain, Erica Jong, Stephen King, Julia Cameron, Janet Fitch, O.Henry, Joseph Conrad, Natalie Goldberg and Sylvia Plath, who all know a thing or two about writing, are among the works found in this very thorough anthology. Each author with their very different but most recognizable styles will have you turning the page as fast as you can.

Some of these works were written specifically for this book, others written long ago, just seem to fit the mold. They will hit home with writers of all levels, published or non-published, amateur or professional. Even if you journal, I think you will easily relate to these wonderful works.They will have you smiling and sighing, and at times even thinking, "why didn't I write that?!"

Waldman has filled this book with some excellent selections.The book is divided into four parts. "Living the Writing Life","Memories and Inspirations from the Past","Advice to Writers Young and Old", and "Bending the Muse and Breaking the Rules",have over 60 works to savor, with some fitting parting words from Faulkner and Steinbeck, both taken from their Nobel Prize Acceptance speeches.

It's a fabulous book for anyone who loves to write. Turn to it for inspiration, motivation, validation, and maybe a good laugh along the way. An absolute celebration of the writing life.

Enjoy the read....Laurie

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A POWERFUL BOOK !, September 29, 2001

By	susan van doren (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

"Writers love language. They play with words, rolling them around on the page, arranging and rearranging them until they come alive. The meanings are stretched and changed, and if the writer is successful, he or she will lure the reader into that mysterious world where fiction and reality blur."
These words were penned by Mark Waldman, who edited this amazing collection of literary gems. Written by award-winning writers and poets, and several as-yet-unknown new talents, these authors open their hearts to the reader, sharing the most intimate adventures of their lives, moments that are frequently filled with vulnerability, pain, and ecstasy. The Spirit of Writing exemplifies the writer's life in a way that inspires us to write and read, and then to write some more. In many of the stories, you will witness how a writer's life unfolds. You'll roam through childhood memories, nostalgic and sometimes trajic, discovering what inspired them to write. These authors write lyrically, playing with subtle nuances of tone. And for those who want to write better, there are mountains of literary advice.
Humor also abounds in this delightful collection of essays. From Mark Twain's hilariously brutal attack upon poets to the wild and sexy muse of Henry Miller, I laughed my way through the pitfalls and pratfalls that plague a writer's life (in Hamilton's essay, she literally gives birth to a six pound book). Even the classic essays by mixed pathos with humor, as in Joseph Conrad's monologue with his pen that drives him mad. And imagine what the poet Peter Joris must suffer through when the letters and words keep falling off his page (Joris' story is one of a half-dozen experimental pieces that demonstrate the cutting edge of creative writing today).
One story, "Clawing at Stones," touched me deeply. It was written by Sindiwe Magona, a well-known black author who calls herself "a migrant worker," a South African woman who lives in the Bronx and works for the United Nations. "I am convinced," she writes, "that it is only by probing both the joys and woundings of time that we might be blessed and empowered to affect the future." She talks about the dangers that women of color face, especially if they write about the atrocities they see. Through such memoirs, we begin to understand the darker forces that guides a writer's pen. Several other stories in this anthology, like Lia Scott Price's "Without Wings," also illuminate the suffering that have driven many women to write.
Perhaps we are all "clawing at stones" and "fighting without wings," living with our stories inside. And with the memoirs that this unique anthology holds, perhaps it will inspire more people to write. About the truth, the pain, and joy that fills our lives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Treasure!, September 23, 2001

By	Nancy L. Mehl "Author" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"When I'm writing, I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we're capable of, how we feel, how we lose and stand up, and go on from darkness into darkness. Maya Angelou (From THE SPIRIT OF WRITING)

THE SPIRIT OF WRITING is an intriguing look into the souls of over sixty different writers. From Mark Twain to Stephen King, we are able to examine the spark that motivates the muse, and in return, perhaps more clearly see the face of the spirit that dwells, sometimes hidden and unnamed, inside any of us who have asked ourselves...what if?

The passions that inspire each writer, although varied and unique, weave themselves into a pattern that all writers can identify with. Author Bob Shacochis writes for revenge; "Revenge against apathy...against the bullets of assassins...against the Devil...against the silence into which we fall." Sylvia Plath confronts the most well-known literary demon - insecurity. Mark Twain takes a hysterical and irreverent stab at those who call themselves writers in "Littery Men." Author Jane Eaton Hamilton equates the production of a novel to the pain of childbirth, and Stephen King looks at the monetary side of writing in a funny piece called "It's Not the Money."

In "Getting It," written by MyShelf.com's own Susan McBride, we're given a personal glimpse into her struggle to silence the negative forces around her, until she could finally hear a voice from inside saying, "Don't quit. Your time will come."

THE SPIRIT OF WRITING is a book that will stay close by the side of anyone who writes, who wants to write, or who knows a writer. And for those who are discouraged, this book is essential. It will stir the embers until the fire inside you is burning brightly again!