PortadaGruposCharlasMásPanorama actual
Buscar en el sitio
Este sitio utiliza cookies para ofrecer nuestros servicios, mejorar el rendimiento, análisis y (si no estás registrado) publicidad. Al usar LibraryThing reconoces que has leído y comprendido nuestros términos de servicio y política de privacidad. El uso del sitio y de los servicios está sujeto a estas políticas y términos.

Resultados de Google Books

Pulse en una miniatura para ir a Google Books.

Cargando...

Mentors, Muses & Monsters: 30 Writers on the People Who Changed Their Lives (2009)

por Elizabeth Benedict (Editor)

Otros autores: Elizabeth Benedict (Contribuidor), Robert Boyers (Contribuidor), Jay Cantor (Contribuidor), John Casey (Contribuidor), Maud Casey (Contribuidor)25 más, Christopher Castellani (Contribuidor), Alexander Chee (Contribuidor), Michael Cunningham (Contribuidor), Jonathan Safran Foer (Contribuidor), Julia Glass (Contribuidor), Mary Gordon (Contribuidor), Neil Gordon (Contribuidor), Arnon Grunberg (Contribuidor), Samantha Hunt (Contribuidor), Denis Johnson (Contribuidor), Margot Livesey (Contribuidor), Dinaw Mengestu (Contribuidor), Sigrid Nunez (Contribuidor), Joyce Carol Oates (Contribuidor), ZZ Packer (Contribuidor), Caryl Phillips (Contribuidor), Carolyn See (Contribuidor), Jim Shepard (Contribuidor), Anita Shreve (Contribuidor), Jane Smiley (Contribuidor), Martha Southgate (Contribuidor), Cheryl Strayed (Contribuidor), Evelyn Toynton (Contribuidor), Lily Tuck (Contribuidor), Edmund White (Contribuidor)

MiembrosReseñasPopularidadValoración promediaMenciones
672391,738 (4.2)12
Elizabeth Benedict assembles thirty writers who tell of the biggest influence on their lives, either persons, books, or events.
Ninguno
Cargando...

Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará.

Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro.

» Ver también 12 menciones

Mostrando 2 de 2
In compiling this volume, Elizabeth Benedict invited writers of fiction to submit personal essays about the people, books and experiences that have had a defining impact on their development. The result is a gathering of essays from thirty authors who are as diverse as the influences of which they write.

This is a collection of intimate, revealing glimpses into the experiences that have encouraged writers, mostly young, to persevere. There is nothing glamorous in their contributions, just ordinariness and honesty. Some cite the impact of direct interactions with teachers, parents, friends, editors and fellow writers. Others describe more distant influences, as in a book read or a body of work by a revered author. The authors of these essays seem exceptional, not for their early displays of talent, but for the resolve with which they set forth on their writing paths, their determination nurtured by even the smallest moments of encouragement.

Elizabeth Benedict has a senior tutorial with Elizabeth Hardwick, whose mentorship seems to be largely contained in just a few words: “I think you can do the work,” she said kindly, “but you have to decide if you want such a hard life.”

As a graduate student, Robert Boyers receives a note from an editor in response to a poetry submission, saying ”You’re obviously very bright, …but I would recommend that you try something else.” That advice would discourage him from writing fiction until when nearly fifty, he is strongly affected by the work of the Italian writer, Natalia Ginzburg.

The Dutch author, Arnon Grunberg, credits his writing career to having dropped out of high school after locking himself in the bathroom for hours to convince his parents of his seriousness. An aptitude test rates him as having below average language skills and an attempt to develop an acting career quickly fizzles, before a friendship formed in ballet class leads him finally to literature and writing.

Sigrid Nunez lived for a time with her boyfriend in the home of his mother, Susan Sontag, from whom she learned the 'rules' of writing and life.

In her mid-20s, Cheryl Strayed receives an unexpected letter of encouragement from Alice Munro and dreams of meeting her, yet when the opportunity presents, is unable to form the words and simply walks away.

Despite having been an editor and a publisher, Joyce Carol Oates’ husband rarely read her work, whether published or in-progress. No one is comfortable when others perceive, or believe they can perceive, the wellsprings of their “art” amid the unremarkable detritus of life.

Contained within the essays are also little gems of writing advice gleaned from teachers and mentors.

Annie Dillard’s advice to Alexander Chee:

Remember that adverbs are a sign that you’ve used the wrong verb. Verbs control when something is happening in the mind of the reader.

You can invent the details that don’t matter…At the edges. You cannot invent the details that matter.


Gordon Lish in a workshop attended by Lily Tuck:

“Your first sentence ordains your world; do not be trivial or petty. Nothing is worse than being trivial... As Joy Williams once said, ’The world makes everything taste like chicken. ‘ Own your first sentence, make it yours…Each sentence gives rise to the next sentence, each sentence owes everything to its predecessor. Reveal how elastic a sentence can be. Get into the habit of recasting sentences. Learn how to open up a sentence...

Do not proclaim….Instead, show the world being made…The more you feel the object you are rendering, the less you have to explain.…

You should never make claims of feelings in the first person if there is no irony….

Fiction…must create an argument, if not it is facile. Nothing is earned. Engage in an activity that is difficult for yourself and not merely an I reporting on itself.”


The worthiness of these essays lies in the simple pleasure of being introduced to a new author or learning more about a familiar one, while gaining a sense of them as individuals. I would recommend this collection to readers who are fascinated by ‘the person behind the author’. ( )
3 vota Linda92007 | Jul 24, 2012 |
"Mentors, Muses & Monsters" was a gift from a friend. I opened it at random, read several essays and called to thank him saying, "These are great! They've knocked my socks off!"

The book, edited by Elizabeth Benedict, presents "30 writers on the people who changed their lives." It's a mix of (to me) familiar and unknown authors/ male & female, young & old. I read at random and now must catch those I missed.

(An example of depth:
Carolyn See, in "The Scholars and the Pornographer" praises her mentors Dame Helen Gardner and George Newton Bolin Laws; presents an unvarnished portrait of her father and gives readers an appreciation of John Espey.) ( )
  Esta1923 | Mar 15, 2012 |
Mostrando 2 de 2
Reflecting on the state are some well-known voices ranging in tone from youthfully sanguine or self-serious (Benedict, Jonathan Safran Foer) to sensitive, solitary, or shy (Robert Boyers, Joyce Carol Oates, Jane Smiley). Together, they offer a real, giddy, and sometimes painful look at the ride that can result when a literary “name” suggests that one has – or does not have – talent.
 

» Añade otros autores

Nombre del autorRolTipo de autor¿Obra?Estado
Benedict, ElizabethEditorautor principaltodas las edicionesconfirmado
Benedict, ElizabethContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Boyers, RobertContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Cantor, JayContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Casey, JohnContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Casey, MaudContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Castellani, ChristopherContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Chee, AlexanderContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Cunningham, MichaelContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Foer, Jonathan SafranContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Glass, JuliaContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Gordon, MaryContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Gordon, NeilContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Grunberg, ArnonContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Hunt, SamanthaContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Johnson, DenisContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Livesey, MargotContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Mengestu, DinawContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Nunez, SigridContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Oates, Joyce CarolContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Packer, ZZContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Phillips, CarylContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
See, CarolynContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Shepard, JimContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Shreve, AnitaContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Smiley, JaneContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Southgate, MarthaContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Strayed, CherylContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Toynton, EvelynContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Tuck, LilyContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
White, EdmundContribuidorautor secundariotodas las edicionesconfirmado
Debes iniciar sesión para editar los datos de Conocimiento Común.
Para más ayuda, consulta la página de ayuda de Conocimiento Común.
Título canónico
Título original
Títulos alternativos
Fecha de publicación original
Personas/Personajes
Lugares importantes
Acontecimientos importantes
Películas relacionadas
Epígrafe
Dedicatoria
Primeras palabras
Citas
Últimas palabras
Aviso de desambiguación
Editores de la editorial
Blurbistas
Idioma original
DDC/MDS Canónico
LCC canónico

Referencias a esta obra en fuentes externas.

Wikipedia en inglés

Ninguno

Elizabeth Benedict assembles thirty writers who tell of the biggest influence on their lives, either persons, books, or events.

No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca.

Descripción del libro
Resumen Haiku

Debates activos

Ninguno

Cubiertas populares

Enlaces rápidos

Valoración

Promedio: (4.2)
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5 2
4 1
4.5
5 2

¿Eres tú?

Conviértete en un Autor de LibraryThing.

 

Acerca de | Contactar | LibraryThing.com | Privacidad/Condiciones | Ayuda/Preguntas frecuentes | Blog | Tienda | APIs | TinyCat | Bibliotecas heredadas | Primeros reseñadores | Conocimiento común | 203,243,461 libros! | Barra superior: Siempre visible