A targeted and insightful guide to the stages of writing fiction and memoir without falling into common traps, while wisely navigating the writing life, from an award-winning author and longtime teacher
Alice Mattison is a widely acclaimed author and longtime writing teacher. She has published six novels-including The Book Borrower, Nothing Is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn, andWhen We Argued All Night, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice-as well as four collections of short stories and a collection of poems. Twelve of her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, and other work has been published in The New York Times, Ploughshares, and Ecotone and anthologized in The Pushcart Prize, PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, and Best American Short Stories. A frequent panelist at AWP and other writing conferences, she has held residencies at Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. She has taught at Brooklyn College, Yale University, and, for the last twenty-one years, in the Bennington Writing Seminars, the MFA program at Bennington College.
“A book-length master class.”
—The Atlantic
“The Kite and the String does not purport to be either a DIY
manual or memoiristic musing. Rather, it is a guide to the stages
of writing, exploring an approach which is essentially practical,
human, and hopeful. . . . Mattison’s close reading of various works
of fiction is well worth every writer’s while. . . . She is a
wonderfully wise and nurturing teacher.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Not a how-to so much as a reflection on how to be happy, or at
least productive, as a writer . . . Mattison walks us through the
writing process from idea to drafting to revision, offers possible
forms for stories, carefully considers issues she’s noticed while
teaching, then wraps up with proposals for how we might get our
minds and expectations right. . . . A much-needed reminder to relax
control, to commit the space and the time, then sit back and let
the string unspool.”
—The Rumpus
“Full of warm but pragmatic wisdom . . . Mattison cuts through
a lot of the mystique around the writing process.”
—Flavorwire
“Alice Mattison’s The Kite and the String is the best kind of
‘inside job.’ Though brimming with a practitioner’s reflective
wisdom and immediately useful insight, it is never
prescriptive—always acknowledging that ‘This worked for me. . .’
without ever presuming. But Mattison is so canny and experienced
that her insights are hugely relevant for all of us who write.
Indeed, this book goes right next to James Wood’s How Fiction Works
on the shelf by the desk.”
—Sven Birkerts, author of The Gutenberg Elegies and The Art of Time
in Memoir
“An indispensable writing guide by a master teacher, as
tough-minded as it is encouraging. And Alice Mattison’s wit,
erudition, and transcendent common sense make it a sheer pleasure
to read and re-read.”
—David Gates, author of Jernigan and A Hand Reached Down to
Guide Me
“The essays in The Kite and the String are brilliant, funny, and
wise—everything that readers of Alice Mattison’s fine work have
come to expect—and they will send you running to your desk with new
insight and inspiration. Every page is a keeper.”
—Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life and Going Away Shoes
“Wry and wise, the voice of master teacher and storyteller Alice
Mattison carries us aloft in this useful, funny, and important book
about writing and the writing life. Every student, writer, and
teacher—of fiction, nonfiction, and, for that matter, poetry—will
find new insights, old truths newly expressed, and aid and comfort
as we pursue our difficult and glorious art. In this book,
Mattison reveals what her colleagues and students have long
known—that she is an indispensable writing friend.”
—April Bernard, author of Miss Fuller
“In this superb book about writing and her own surprising
beginnings as a writer, Alice Mattison shows us how to create the
vivid dream of successful fiction. If you want to be a writer, read
this book.”
—Susan Cheever, author of Drinking in America
“Mattison analyzes how to write compelling fiction in this
essential guide . . . a gold mine for writers across a spectrum of
experience levels. Her conspiratorial ‘we the writers’ tone is
charming and lively, and her breadth of knowledge makes her an
effective and instructive authority. Perfect for aspiring writers
or those trying to make it over a bump in the road.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“Unlike other guides on the topic, Mattison’s focuses on the
process of becoming an author rather than the elements of a
genre—finding story, not detailing its pieces. Anecdotes and
examples from her career as a writer, mother, and MFA instructor
make this a lively and provocative read. . . . The instruction is
engaging and approachable, lending the feel of a writer’s workshop.
A great choice for writers, particularly those with a day job.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Mattison offers thoughtful, encouraging advice. . . . She doles
out guidance on crafting story, conjuring character, and keeping
readers engaged, all peppered with examples taken from her own
classroom as well as from the works of literary giants. . . .
Novice writers can do themselves (and us all) a favor by dipping
into this practical primer.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A generous, empathetic writer’s companion.”
—Kirkus Reviews
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
