Telling it at a Slant: Tales from the Heart and Other Places
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This would also be a great resource for teachers. Sep 21, S. This is kind of a lie because I didn't read the whole thing. But I'm gonna count it. Because I got the gist. Jun 29, Vonetta rated it liked it.
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Great overview of the creative nonfiction writing process! It definitely covers some of the specifics of essay and memoir writing persona, emotional truth, etc , and adds in extra about publishing. Handy guide for those just starting out telling the truth. Jul 13, Julie rated it liked it Shelves: I found the writing advice pretty basic granted, I've read a lot of writing books but the anthology was well curated.
Definitely look for the first edition with the anthology. Excellent resource for bloggers and others wanting to hone their creative nonfiction skills. Oct 31, Ursula Pike rated it it was amazing Shelves: I feel like this is one of those books I should read every year to pick up what I missed. An excellent book about creative nonfiction. Very useful and comprehensive manual for nonfiction writing, particularly memoir.
I find the exercises and perspectives on parts of the process very helpful for teaching. Mar 06, Lila Kladreau rated it liked it. I read this book initially for a creative nonfiction class then repurchased it many years later for a re-read as I couldn't get some of the stories out of my head. Reading it both then and now, I found the actual teaching section of the book to be light on concrete advice. However, they used examples to excellent effect regularly. A particularly memorable section quotes a paragraph from a story written by a surgeon describing a surgery. It is a spectacular moment in a fairly bland tale and works I read this book initially for a creative nonfiction class then repurchased it many years later for a re-read as I couldn't get some of the stories out of my head.
It is a spectacular moment in a fairly bland tale and works well to make their point. The second half of the book is a collection of short stories and a couple odd pieces better categorized closer to poetry in my mind. Some of these stories are incredible and have stuck with me all these years, constantly coming up in discussions. The story about a shooter on campus is particularly powerful, given its unique approach and the handling of such emotionally packed material.
Unfortunately, the collected stories are not all as powerful or clearly structured. I find them incredibly uneven when taken as a whole and definitely understand my professor's choice to only include a few of the stories in our required reading. Overall, well worth the time but I strongly suggest skipping a story if you're not feeling it which I never do as some simply will not work for you artistically.
I also suggest skipping the textbook portion completely if you are an experienced writer, as it is unlikely to add anything of value. It is, however, a great resource for those without a writing background and I think it would make a great gift for a budding author.
I don't think I'm a self-help-book kind of person. While I enjoyed each section of this book for a little while, I soon lost interest and had to struggle through to the next topic shift. In the first section, the authors concentrate on the 'what' of creative non-fiction. I felt that too much of what the authors said was obvious and I wasn't inspired by the prompts.
I enjoyed the second section of the book best, the bit where they talked about the 'how' of writing creative non-fiction. As with se I don't think I'm a self-help-book kind of person.
As with section 1, though, I didn't find the prompts inspiring. The third section gives instruction on revising work and on writing groups, neither of which were very inspiring. Generally, I though the authors should take their own advice and go light on the exposition and heavier on the exemplar.
- Lamb Of God.
- How To Live In Ecuador!
- Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction.
- Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction by Brenda Miller.
- The Stripper - Erotic Short Story for Women;
- The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories;
- PREFACE TO THE SHORTER SEVENTH EDITION!
I would have loved to read more of how other authors have written in this genre. I think I would have got more out of their discussions if they'd been illustrated with examples. I'm glad I read this book, glad that it's finished now. I don't think I'll be picking up another 'how-to' book on writing anytime soon.
Sep 09, Susan Tekulve rated it it was amazing. This was always been my favorite creative nonfiction textbook because it is both a guide to writing and an anthology. The chapters on craft are well organized and well illustrated, and the reading selections are quite good. Unfortunately, in , the textbook industry made the editors of this wonderful edition create a newer edition, and in this newer edition, most of the readings are gone.
The edition is just a slim volume, a shadow of this former glorious edition, and I've neve This was always been my favorite creative nonfiction textbook because it is both a guide to writing and an anthology. The edition is just a slim volume, a shadow of this former glorious edition, and I've never found just one creative nonfiction textbook to replace the edition when I teach a course in creative nonfiction.
Now, I have to use three different textbooks to deliver the same information that was once in the edition. What a shame that the textbook industry has destroyed this text. These two poles --intimacy of voice and universality of significance--go to the heart of the personal essay tradition. The essay speaks confidingly, as a whispering friend, and these whispers must be made meaningful in a larger context--capturing a piece of larger human experience within the amber of your own.
The Norton Anthology of American Literature
Is A fine quote: Isn't this also relationship, therapy, intimacy? Writing as an essayist is "capturing a piece of your own experience and making it meaningful to the human experience. I think this is an excellent introduction to creative nonfiction. I think it is good for people just starting out with writing or those who want more of an idea of how to write nonfiction creatively. I first looked at select chapters of this book for a creative nonfiction class, but have since returned and read the remaining chapters. As someone with a strong foundation in writing this text is simply filling in some blanks.
I just finished reading Part 3: Honing Your Craft and really appreciate I think this is an excellent introduction to creative nonfiction.
Honing Your Craft and really appreciate the ideas of how to take my rough drafts and experiment with the form. I am sure this is a text I will keep returning to as a reminder of what creative nonfiction can be. Oct 01, Laryssa Wirstiuk rated it really liked it. This book has something for writers at every level. Some sections - like the one that describes different types of creative nonfiction - were very basic, while others - like the one about honing craft - were more advanced.
I found a lot of great stuff to share with my students, and not just about creative nonfiction. Must of the advice in this book can be applied to any genre. The writing itself is really a pleasure to read, and I can tell that Brenda and Suzanne are masters of their craft. I al This book has something for writers at every level. I also really liked the examples they use to illustrate all their points, and I think the book is a great starting point to discover other great works. This book is an introduction to writing creative nonfiction.
It introduces the reader to the subgenres of creative nonfiction, gives ideas for subjects to write about, and gives advice for the writing and revising processes. Also, after every chapter, there is a selection of writing prompts, for the readers to put into practice what they have learned. If you're trying to learn how to write creative nonfiction or if you want to know what creative nonfiction is all about , then I think this is a g This book is an introduction to writing creative nonfiction. If you're trying to learn how to write creative nonfiction or if you want to know what creative nonfiction is all about , then I think this is a good place to start.
The title references an Emily Dickinson poem that begins, "Tell all the Truth, but tell it Slant" and ends with "The Truth must dazzle gradually or every man be blind. I appreciate the book for its writing suggestions, especially those modified for group work, as I teach life writing workshops. A solid overview of the writing of creative nonfiction that worked really well as a teaching text; it's full of writing prompts and ideas, and it leaves lots of room for students, teachers, and writers to stretch out and find their places within the genre.
Prescriptive enough for clarity but not so prescriptive that it's constricting. It's the best introduction to writing creative nonfiction that I've found; my students responded to it with enthusiasm and interest. I teach out of this book, mostly because we're required to teach from something and I don't like the 4th Genre anthology.
Even with page version I couldn't find it here it's still surprisingly compact and the "try it" exercises are sometimes okay.
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I also like the pictures of the authors at the start of each there essays. It's the least dreary of a dreary bunch. Why can't some one publish an instructive text that is actually enjoyable to flip through? Oct 29, Patricia rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book was used as a text for a Creative Non-Fiction class I audited last year. This book will remain on my shelves for as long as I need advice on my own forays in to memoir and travelogue writing OK for as long as I live because you never know when you will need to affirm or revise your creative non-fiction writing style and techniques!
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is lyrical, tender, brave in it's self revelations, and easily understandable. Love, nature, and humorous childhood. www.farmersmarketmusic.com: Telling it at a Slant: Tales from the Heart and Other Places eBook: Joe Neal: Kindle Store.
Apr 27, B. Morgan rated it liked it. Read this for a class on creative nonfiction. I didn't know much about the genre and after reading this book along with the class, I know little more than I did. It has a bit more writer-speak than I like, which I categorize as flowy prose and metaphors that doesn't really say anything. They sound pretty and cool, but what does it mean? Oct 12, Jessica Kluthe rated it really liked it. I find myself recommending Tell It Slant to anyone struggling with structure, and I consult it all the time myself.
This book does a great job detailing different structures, and then it provides examples of stories that implement them in the second half of the book. Shimon would place the point of a pencil in his own mouth, and the end of that pencil in the mouth of a child, so they could feel the pencil vibrate as language was created via the tongue. This method was evidently quite successful; against all odds, the children were able to master speech. Their prophet Moses had also had an unwieldy mouth and a heavy tongue. Second, Katja wrote this book in a foreign language.
Both Katja and her brother embraced foreign languages as a means of carving out their paths in life; her brother learned Hebrew when he turned to Orthodox Judaism, and she learned German when she fell in love with a German man, her future husband. Like the deaf-mute children she describes, she found the process of learning to speak and then to write in a new language liberating and identity-forming.
And finally, there is silence about the past, most notably in a chapter toward the end of the book: His smile nurtured his silence.
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- Contents | The Norton Anthology of American Literature | W. W. Norton & Company.
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No stories about the war, not a word about the past, about experiences, no Those were the days. While reading, I was curious about how the German text would be experienced by a German reader? Or were those smoothed out by her editor? If not, did this affect how you approached your translation into English? For instance, an early draft omitted articles, in accordance with Russian grammar. Still, when her German editor added the articles, the rhythm was off.
A great deal of back and forth ensued to get the medium and message in proper balance. In both form and content, Katja aimed at foregrounding the fragmentary nature of her quest to piece together her family history, and the jagged use of language that comes with foreign language proficiency acquired later in life is part and parcel of that fragmentation. At certain points in the text, Katja announces to the reader and thus to me as translator that awkward wording will follow, and I made sure to adjust the translation accordingly, such as in this ungraceful sentence: My German, still taut with unattainability, kept me from falling into a routine.
I wrote, sagging under the weight of the swelling linguistic fodder, like a cow and an unborn calf all in one, bellowing and mooing, giving birth and being born, worth all the effort…. It is writing that dazzles — deeply thoughtful and with insights that flash like sharp implements. The entire book has a very specific focus on language, on what words mean, on how certain words influence the emotional landscape of an individual. Language is not just what words mean, but how they mean—what signals they send off as they go about signifying.