Writers on Writing: More Collected Essays from the New York Times, Paperback/Jane Smiley

"Glimpses into writers and the circumstances that shape them . . . Valuable gleanings."-Kirkus Reviews In a second volume of original essays drawn from the long-running New York Times column, Writers on Writing brings together another group of contemporary literature's finest voices to muse on the challenges and gifts of language and creativity. The pieces range from taciturn, hilarious advice for aspiring writers to thoughtful, soul-wrenching reflections on writing in the midst of national tragedy. William Kennedy talks about the intersecting lives of real and imagined Albany politics; Susan Isaacs reveals her nostalgia for a long-retired protagonist; and Elmore Leonard offers pithy rules for letting the writing, and not the writer, take charge. With contributions from Diane Ackerman, Margaret Atwood, Frank Conroy, Mary Karr, Patrick McGrath, Arthur Miller, Amy Tan, and Edmund White, Writers on Writing, Volume II offers an uncommon and revealing view of the writer's world. About the Author: Jane Smiley is the author of ten works of fiction, including Good Faith; Horse Heaven; A Thousand Acres , for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize; and Moo . She lives in northern California.