Additional Info:
By turns poignant, hilarious, and practical, Writers on Writing brings together more than forty of contemporary literature's finest voices.

Pieces range from reflections on the daily craft of writing to the intersection of art's and life's consequential moments. Authors discuss what impels them to write: creating a sense of control in a turbulent universe; bearing witness to events that would otherwise be lost in history or within the writer's soul; recapturing a fragment of time. Others praise mentors and lessons, whether from the classroom, daily circumstances, or the pages of a favorite writer. For anyone interested in the art and rewards of writing, Writers on Writing offers an uncommon and revealing view of a writer's world.

Contributors include Russell Banks, Saul Bellow, E. L. Doctorow, Richard Ford, Kent Haruf, Carl Hiaasen, Alice Hoffman, Jamaica Kincaid, Barbara Kingsolver, Sue Miller, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Annie Proulx, Carol Shields, Jane Smiley, Susan Sontag, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Alice Walker, and Elie Wiesel. (From the Publisher)

Table Of Content:
Introduction / John Darnton
A Literary Pilgrim Progresses to the Past (Andre' Aciman)
A Novelist's Vivid Memory Spins Fiction of Its Own (Russell Banks)
To Engage the World More Fully, Follow a Dog (Rick Bass)
Hidden Within Technology's Empire, a Republic of Letters (Saul Bellow)
Pupils Glimpse an Idea, Teacher Gets a Gold Star (Anne Bernays)
Characters' Weaknesses Build Fiction's Strengths (Rosellen Brown)
How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call? (Carolyn Chute)
From Echoes Emerge Original Voices (Nicholas Delbanco)
Quick Cuts: The Novel Follows Film into a World of Fewer Words (E. L. Doctorow)
Two Languages in Mind, but Just One in the Heart (Louise Erdrich)
Instant Novels? In Your Dreams! (Thomas Fleming)
Goofing Off While the Muse Recharges (Richard Ford)
A Novelist Breaches the Border to Nonfiction (Gail Godwin)
Putting Pen to Paper, but Not Just Any Pen or Just Any Paper (Mary Gordon)
To See Your Story Clearly, Start by Pulling the Wool over Your Own Eyes (Kent Haruf)
Real Life, That Bizarre and Brazen Plagiarist (Carl Hiaasen)
Sustained by Fiction While Facing Life's Facts (Alice Hoffman)
The Enduring Commitment of a Faithful Storyteller (Maureen Howard)
Inventing Life Steals Time, Living Life Begs It Back (Gish Jen)
Pesky Themes Will Emerge When You're Not Looking (Diane Johnson)
Sitting Down a Novelist, Getting Up a Playwright (Ward Just)
Those Words That Echo ... Echo ... Echo Through Life (Jamaica Kincaid)
A Forbidden Territory Familiar to All (Barbara Kingsolver)
Summoning the Mystery and Tragedy, but in a Subterranean Way (Hans Koning)
Comforting Lessons in Arranging Life's Details (David Leavitt)
The Humble Genre Novel, Sometimes Full of Genius (David Mamet)
She Was Blond. She Was in Trouble. And She Paid 3 Cents a Word (Ed McBain)
Virtual Reality: The Perils of Seeking a Novelist's Facts in Her Fiction (Sue Miller)
For Authors, Fragile Ideas Need Loving Every Day (Walter Mosley)
To Invigorate Literary Mind, Start Moving Literary Feet (Joyce Carol Oates)
A Storyteller Stands Where Justice Confronts Basic Human Needs (Sara Paretsky)
Life of Prose and Poetry: An Inspiring Combination (Marge Piercy)
Inspiration? Head Down the Back Road, and Stop for the Yard Sales (Annie Proulx)
If You Invent the Story, You're the First to See How It Ends (Roxana Robinson)
Once Upon a Time, Literature. Now What? (James Salter)
Starting with a Tree and Finally Getting to the Death of a Brother (William Saroyan)
Opting for Invention over the Injury of Invasion (Carol Shields)
A Reluctant Muse Embraces His Task, and Everything Changes (Jane Smiley)
Directions: Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed (Susan Sontag)
An Odyssey That Started with Ulysses (Scott Turow)
Questions of Character: There's No Ego as Wounded as a Wounded Alter Ego (John Updike as Henry Bech)
Despite Tough Guys, Life Is Not the Only School for Real Novelists (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.)
Metta to Muriel and Other Marvels: A Poet's Experience of Meditation (Alice Walker)
In the Castle of Indolence You Can Hear the Sound of Your Own Mind (Paul West)
A Sacred Magic Can Elevate the Secular Storyteller (Elie Wiesel)
Embarking Together on Solitary Journeys (Hilma Wolitzer)