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Liked It “ok - this was a re-read but it's been several years since I read it the first time. Beautiful imagery - profound thoughts. A gem.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“ok - this was a re-read but it's been several years since I read it the first time. Beautiful imagery - profound thoughts. A gem.”
Patricia C wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Something that delights me no matter how many times I read it.”
Janet L wrote this review Tuesday, September 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Nearly 20 years ago, I found this tiny treasure buried amidst other books in a used bookstore. Annie's words resound in the reality of the writing life and how wrestling with the muse is not so much the problem as it is wrestling with ourselves and learning not to take ourselves too seriously.
Deb wrote this review Wednesday, May 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
A humorous excerpt describes this (p.70):
"A well-known writer got collared by a university student who asked, 'Do you think I could be a writer?'
'Well,' the writer said, 'I don't know...Do you like sentences?'
The writer could see the student's amazement. Sentences? Do I like sentences? I am twenty years old and do I like sentences? If he had liked sentences, of course, he could begin, like a joyful painter I knew. I asked him how he came ot be a painter. He said, 'I liked the smell of paint.'"”
“If you have ever created a piece pf art in your life, you should read this book!”
Seth O wrote this review Sunday, July 27 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I'm a fan of Annie Dillard and, although beautifully written, this was not among my favorite of her books. But, I think it should be a requirement for aspiring writers because it does help spur is on to greater things. She does offer some great advice such as "Write as if you were dying."”
Clara Jane wrote this review Wednesday, July 23 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“"Annie Dillard has spent a lot of time in remote, bare-bones shelters doing something she claims to hate: writing. Slender though it is, The Writing Life richly conveys the torturous, tortuous, and in rare moments, transcendent existence of the writer. Even for Dillard, whose prose is so mellifluous as to seem effortless, the act of writing can seem a Sisyphean task: "When you write," she says, "you lay out a line of words.... Soon you find yourself deep in new territory. Is it a dead end, or have you located the real subject? You will know tomorrow or this time next year." Amid moving accounts of her own writing (and life) experiences, Dillard also manages to impart wisdom to other writers, wisdom having to do with passion and commitment and taking the work seriously. "One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place.... Something more will arise for later, something better." And, if that is not enough, "Assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients," she says. "That is, after all, the case.... What could you say to a dying person that would not enrage by its triviality?"
Mizoleila wrote this review Saturday, April 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This all makes The Writing Life seem a dense, tough read, but that is not the case at all. Dillard is, after all, human, just like the rest of us. During one particularly frantic moment, four cups of coffee and not much writing down, Dillard comes to a realization: "Many fine people were out there living, people whose consciences permitted them to sleep at night despite their not having written a decent sentence that day, or ever." Jane Steinberg
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“Annie Dillard writes so beautifully - prose that reads as smoothly and captivatingly as poetry - that it seems a shame to pollute the world with less worthy sentences. She absolutely makes you want to fall in love with words in a new way.”
dmaher wrote this review Wednesday, August 29 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Hand down, this is the best book on writing that I have ever read. Although it doesn't include much in the way of practical advice, it also offers a clear and convincing reason.
GoodWordEditing.com wrote this review Wednesday, August 8 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Annie Dillard asks, Who will teach me to write? The page. The blank page. Fill it up with words. Do that often enough, with real discipline, and the details will work themselves out.”
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