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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
"This is really a book about a writer finding his voice," explains McClanahan (A Congress of Wonders; Famous People I Have Known), describing this assemblage of short fiction and essays written over five decades. From a 1952 C+ student story to the delightful nitrous oxide-vapored memoir "Grateful Dead I Have Known" (1972), McClanahan emerges as the stylist of the "wild-eyed anarcho-syndicalist Yippie peace creeps" generation. An endearing candor marks his comments on his career's triumphs and setbacks as he admits to an early fondness for "descriptive tics" and "wretched excesses." His memoirs of his days as a prot?g? and colleague of Ken Kesey, Richard Brautigan, Wallace Stegner, Bernard Malamud and others are devoid of braggadocio and full of bemused affection. McClanahan watched a baseball game between the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane, and he rode Kesey's psychedelically retrofitted school bus three decades after Tom Wolfe did. A Kentucky native drawn to California by a writing fellowship, McClanahan has parlayed his Southern provincial sensibilities and front-row-at-Fillmore-West experiences into a mastery of language, and a valuable sensibility, as seen in the tantalizing sops of short fiction here, notably "Postcard" and "The Greatest Writing Ever Wrote." With help from editor Tom Marksbury (who also contributes an afterword), McClanahan has exposed himself as it were, laying bare the history of his entire body of work. Robert Stone, who met McClanahan in a writing class three decades ago, contributes a short foreword.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Southerner McClanahan is a writer's writer, which means he's little known outside writers' circles. Let the greater public be aware of his talents. And this anthology of his essays, reviews, short stories, and novel excerpts (from early drafts) ought to do the trick. His friend, noted novelist Robert Stone, declares in the foreword that McClanahan's writing is "whimsical, and absurdist, outrageous, extreme, and most pleasurable." Readers will not dispute Stone's words and will have some of their own descriptions to add to the list--all flattering, of course. His essay "Bob's Lost Years: A Memoir of Robert Hazel" is a particular delight as he fondly recalls the influence of one of his writing teachers on his own work. Readers will certainly enjoy the short story "The Little-Known Bird of the Inner Eye," in which a sculptor from Kansas goes to pursue his art in the Pacific Northwest and there meets a character he'll never forget. And try McClanahan's review of Richard Brautigan's Revenge of the Lawn for an example of keen critical discernment. Brad Hooper
See all Editorial Reviews
"This is really a book about a writer finding his voice," explains McClanahan (A Congress of Wonders; Famous People I Have Known), describing this assemblage of short fiction and essays written over five decades. From a 1952 C+ student story to the delightful nitrous oxide-vapored memoir "Grateful Dead I Have Known" (1972), McClanahan emerges as the stylist of the "wild-eyed anarcho-syndicalist Yippie peace creeps" generation. An endearing candor marks his comments on his career's triumphs and setbacks as he admits to an early fondness for "descriptive tics" and "wretched excesses." His memoirs of his days as a prot?g? and colleague of Ken Kesey, Richard Brautigan, Wallace Stegner, Bernard Malamud and others are devoid of braggadocio and full of bemused affection. McClanahan watched a baseball game between the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane, and he rode Kesey's psychedelically retrofitted school bus three decades after Tom Wolfe did. A Kentucky native drawn to California by a writing fellowship, McClanahan has parlayed his Southern provincial sensibilities and front-row-at-Fillmore-West experiences into a mastery of language, and a valuable sensibility, as seen in the tantalizing sops of short fiction here, notably "Postcard" and "The Greatest Writing Ever Wrote." With help from editor Tom Marksbury (who also contributes an afterword), McClanahan has exposed himself as it were, laying bare the history of his entire body of work. Robert Stone, who met McClanahan in a writing class three decades ago, contributes a short foreword.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Southerner McClanahan is a writer's writer, which means he's little known outside writers' circles. Let the greater public be aware of his talents. And this anthology of his essays, reviews, short stories, and novel excerpts (from early drafts) ought to do the trick. His friend, noted novelist Robert Stone, declares in the foreword that McClanahan's writing is "whimsical, and absurdist, outrageous, extreme, and most pleasurable." Readers will not dispute Stone's words and will have some of their own descriptions to add to the list--all flattering, of course. His essay "Bob's Lost Years: A Memoir of Robert Hazel" is a particular delight as he fondly recalls the influence of one of his writing teachers on his own work. Readers will certainly enjoy the short story "The Little-Known Bird of the Inner Eye," in which a sculptor from Kansas goes to pursue his art in the Pacific Northwest and there meets a character he'll never forget. And try McClanahan's review of Richard Brautigan's Revenge of the Lawn for an example of keen critical discernment. Brad Hooper
See all Editorial Reviews
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Inside This Book Citations: This book cites 17 books Explore: Citations | Concordance | Text Stats Key Phrases - SIPs: greatest writing Key Phrases - CAPs: Jerry Garcia, San Francisco, Bobby Two, Port Royal, The Natural Man (more) Browse Sample Pages: Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover | Surprise Me! |
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