118 posts tagged with essays.
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Seeking a Paradigm Shift
What is an article or essay that you have read that caused a dramatic change in your thinking / perspective / life? [more inside]
What are the best Steven Hotdog essays?
Looking for great examples of essays that position historical, scientific, etc. factual research alongside personal narrative to illuminate both through analogy. [more inside]
Interrogating the archive
Lately I've come into possession of the massive personal audio archive of a deceased underground music figure from decades ago. As I've been making my way through it, it's got me thinking about how and why we archive -- and I'm thinking specifically about folks who are creating a body of work, not just the collecting of unrelated personal effects by your average person over a lifetime. It feels like something that's been discussed a lot in the literary and art worlds, but I just don't have anything to hand. (I should specify that I'm looking for philosophical essays, books, etc., on the subject - writers who have tackled the impulses behind such archives, not just catalogues raisonné or descriptions of the archives themselves. This article is one way into the subject.)
Great Essays on Climate Change
I'm looking for great essays/articles (non-academic/academic) on any aspect of climate change. The target audience is non-science undergrads, with an interest in this issue. I'll be supplying two or three weeks of basic science as a background against which to read the essays. Thank you! [more inside]
One Man's Feat: How to Build a Complete E.B. White Collection
Reading E.B. White's children's book to my kids inspired me to seek out his other work, and I've loved everything I've read so far: One Man's Meat, Here is New York, and Points of My Compass. I want to continue adding his books to my bookshelves, but there are so many collections... [more inside]
Request: Memoir About Moving to a New City
I'm hoping to find some great memoirs or essay collections to read, and I am looking for something rather specific -- a person (ideally a "regular" person -- not a celebrity or well-known writer/artist) moves to a new, unfamiliar city, and writes about their experiences and observations living in that city. Ideally, the tone would be primarily lighthearted/humorous, but with poignant, bittersweet moments, and emotional depth. Thank you for any recommendations!
Resources for helping advanced ESL student improve essays?
A friend is starting to break into more advanced English and would like some resources to help her improve her essay writing. Details within! [more inside]
John McPhee : basketball :: ____________ : archery
Who are some good nonfiction writers covering archery? I've read Zen in the Art of Archery and the Reeves Wiedeman piece in Harper's. What else is out there? I'm looking less for Lanny Bassham and more for John McPhee.
ISO Robin McKinley Essay/Commentary
In the late 90's I read "Deerskin" by Robin McKinley. I also remember reading something at that time, also by Robin McKinley, commenting that several readers had criticized the Deerskin/Lissar/Moonwoman character for not being a virgin throughout the novel. I can't remember if this was a forward or afterward to the novel or something I read online. Could anyone please let me know the ISBN of any book that might contain this forward or afterward or where I could find it online? Google is not being helpful. Thanks.
Supplemental Shakespeare reading for Slings and Arrows rewatch?
I'm thinking of rewatching Slings and Arrows, and I'd like to read a little something about each of the five Shakespeare plays in the series. What should I read? [more inside]
Essays/Articles That Opened Your Mind
In search of nonfiction that makes you go, "Huh. Never thought of it like that before.” Suggestions, please! [more inside]
Audiobooks that are collections of essays read by the author
I'm looking for recommendations of good audiobooks, but with some specific criteria: collections of essays that are read/narrated by the author. Books like this that I've enjoyed: Lindy West's book Shrill, Scaachi Koul's One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, Kimberly Dark's The Daddies, and various David Sedaris books. I like these for content (often, memoir mixed with social commentary) but also because the authors are expressive/good performers. (Other topics are OK too, but I'd like to stick to nonfiction.)
Can you recommend some really good, long essays?
I would like to read some long essays that merit their length. Topic and style don’t matter — just that the piece is 1) an essay (meaning that the author is exploring ideas, which is a little different than straight reporting or straight memoir, though obviously those lines can be blurry), 2) not short, and 3) you thought it was great.
I want to love Wendell Berry. What should I read by him?
I'd like to familiarize myself with Wendell Berry's work but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed due to the sheer number of essays, books, short stories and poems he's written. There's a newish anthology of essays, but is he better known as a novelist? Would it be better to start with things he wrote earlier in his career, or later? Help! [more inside]
Ideas for Holiday Gift Book Project
I've long had the dream of creating my own "Christmas annual", a small booklet filled with wonderful little things that feel like a gift. I would love to hear what you would like in such a book, and am also seeking good public-domain sources to find content. [more inside]
Web content about sex and stuff
Looking to beef up my RSS feed with good stuff about sex and sexuality. What are the best, most reliable sources of content out there? [more inside]
Essays/short stories on what makes place a community and/or a home
I'm looking for essays or short stories on what makes a place a community and/or a home. It will be assigned high school juniors and seniors in NYC for a seminar on displacement and gentrification.
Ideally fiction, and preferably by a black author or another author of color. Does not necessarily have to be set in a city.
Tx!
Clark County's answer to Joan Didion
I'm looking for writing that captures Las Vegas with thoughtful candor—think what Joan Didion has done for SoCal. Nonfiction preferred, but fiction is also great. [more inside]
What are your favorite contemporary essay collections?
I have loved recent books by John Jeremiah Sullivan, Cheston Knapp, and Meghan Daum. Who am I missing? [more inside]
Help Me Read My Way Through My Divorce
Our marriage is coming to an end after 20 years and I need help finding stories, (fiction, essays, whatever) that I can relate to, to help me cope. [more inside]
Short essays to record for my partner
Can anyone recommend essays or short articles that might sound good when read aloud? I'm making a mini-album for my partner. All topics are welcome. [more inside]
Trying To Find The Title Of A Book About Home
Within the last couple of days I was reading a book review about a book of essays about the nature of home. However, I lost the page before I could record the title. I believe all the authors were women, and I think the book was published in the last few months (or maybe is about to be published). One of the comments in the review was something like home is where we can be ourselves. Does it sound familiar to anyone?
Looking for a reading for a scattering of ashes at sea
I'm looking for a short essay or non-rhymey poem that talks about loss and renewal for an ash scattering in the ocean. [more inside]
Writing Prompts for Creative Non-Fiction
I'm trying to flex my writing muscles a little more often. Specifically, writing in the creative non-fiction / memoir / personal experience category. What are your favorite writing prompts? [more inside]
Writing up interviews effectively
What are some examples of really effective writing based on interviews that balance the voice of the interviewee, framing narration, etc. in a compelling fashion for readers? Bonus points for pieces around ~1,000-1,500 words that work well as blog/Medium posts. [more inside]
Who is the John Muir of New Hampshire's White Mountains?
I've recently started reading John Muir's My First summer in the Sierra and it is riveting stuff, a love-letter to an entire landscape that resonates with the bedrock of my soul. However, right now my heart belongs to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, rather than the Sierra Nevada of California. What writings, by what authors, are the closest equivalent to John Muir's work, but set in the Whites?
Gothic, strange & spooky personal essays and creative nonfiction?
I'm putting together a syllabus for an introductory creative writing class. It's not themed, but my taste in fiction runs towards the dark and Gothic (Shirley Jackson, Joyce Carol Oates) and I'd like at least some of the personal essays I assign to fall into the same vein. [more inside]
...BUT DRONE STRIKES
A lot of Hillary Clinton backlash I see from more left wing/radical friends is "FUNNY to see Clinton/Obama talk about how they stand up for children and women but then turn around and DRONE STRIKE SYRIAN FAMILIES." Has there been anything written to counter this critique from the left, or meditating on Obama/Clinton drone politics, or reconciling with drone policy on the democrat side? [more inside]
Talking to myself won't help my GPA, and all of my friends are imaginary
I'm a lone rhino in an online Communications survey course. The prof wants us to discuss conversations that we have. In short, I converse with no one. Whaddo I do? [more inside]
Seeking great subject-matter introductions for a voraciously curious kid
My ten-year old son wants to understand everything. He is a voracious reader and doesn't confine himself to kids books. He loves reading the newspaper (NYTimes, Boston Globe), fiction, and non-fiction books.
He's old enough to really learn things by reading. Agatha Christie is fun, but he's ready for more than that. He's full of questions about society, politics, science, economics. I'd like to get him some books that will expand his mind, begin answering his questions, and show him how the world fits together. [more inside]
What is this Christian essay I can't quite remember?
Can you help me find an essay that has a paragraph about hugging someone in a parking lot in the hopes of taking their pain away? [more inside]
Help finding a venue for a series of essays
I've come up with a series of essays, one a week. Unfortunately, I stopped writing 5 years ago so I'm unsure how I should proceed finding a platform for these essays. [more inside]
Best eye-opening personal stories you've read online?
Where you come away thinking 'huh, didn't know that things could feel like/could be like that' . [more inside]
How do you plan (and write) academic philosophy essays?
I've never been very good at outlining or planning academic papers. My method of attack has consisted of sitting down at my laptop and hammering out prose, then going back and editing draft after draft until I come up with something I like. This method served me just fine in most of my humanities and social science courses in college, but I have a much harder time approaching philosophy essays in this unstructured way. Does anyone have any particular tips or methods that have helped them plan and write academic philosophy essays?
Have you published an essay about people you know?
I've written an essay about my relationship with my ex. What are your experiences with publishing personal essays about friends or family members? [more inside]
How to get that NYC intellectual feeling
I just read some essays by New York intellectual and feminist writer Katha Politt. Not only is she a fantastic writer, but reading about her NYC literary and intellectual circles gives me a wonderful feeling of being at home. What are some other books that will do this? What are some ways to get more of this experience in my life? [more inside]
Classic Democratic/Liberal literature?
I've read some classic literature explaining the libertarian/right side of our US political divide, but I'd like to read the 'Atlas Shrugged' for the left. What classic thinkers/authors come to mind?
What do you call this academic writing style and should it be avoided?
What would you call this style of writing in which terms are introduced in a flurry of comma separated uses, synonyms or phrasal bits, other languages etc. I associate it mostly with continental academic writing but it may have broader uses. Is it ok to write like this in essays for an MA in Continental Philosophy? [more inside]
Comfort me with novels
I'm entering a period in my life that's going to be, shall we say, a little challenging. I'm looking for novels that will get me so engrossed that I'll forget everything outside them for a least a little while. [more inside]
How To find readings in the "How To" genre?
I am teaching a First-Year Composition course and we're heading into a unit in which students will write a "how to" or process essay. I'm looking for recommendations for readings that might go along with this unit. What readings can you recommend -- either essays, articles, or short fiction -- that are "how to"/process essays, or that use this format? [more inside]
How to get better at organizing my ideas in writing?
How can I get better at organizing my ideas in writing? I want to be able to write essays, long-form blog posts, articles, etc. I want to be able to use in-depth writing as a tool to accomplish things, instead of just enduring it when it comes up. I'm interested in resources (classes? books?), techniques, and advice. [more inside]
I can put together words so that they sound nice. I can't write. Why?
All my life, people have complimented me on my abiity to write well. In middle and high school, it was writing good chapter summaries, literary analyses and essays for homework using flowery language. In college, it became about construction and the flow of ideas, and I found myself to be reasonably adept at that as well. I'm currently jobless ( looking for my first job at 25), and when people chime in with suggestions on how to fix that, they can't understand why I poo-poo the idea of writing professionally out of hand. Help me develop my writerly mind and get myself out of the English class for good. [more inside]
What's that site
I remember discovering a site in, god, 2007 or 2008 I think, possible through Metafilter, that had a theme every month (I very much remember the theme 'Anarchy') and published a number of essays around that theme. Not essays by readers, essays by scholars. I think the essays somehow had to be written in reaction to each other. It was super interesting, but I lost track of it and now I don't know what it was called anymore, or even whether it still exists. Anyone know what I'm talking about?
tweet me a novel
I'm enjoying following Moby Dick excerpts via Twitter, and Angus MacLise's calendar poem YEAR. Are there any other Twitter accounts like this that the hive would recommend? [more inside]
Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry about people's lives
I'm looking for essays, books, poetry, nonfiction, or whatever else about normal people's everyday lives and pasts, humorous if possible. I'm looking for stuff in the vein of the New York Press's old columns (like the ones Ned Vizzini wrote) or like Books of Adam. Writing that is casual, but well written.
Publishing Long-form Writing
I've had an idea for a long-form essay with some original research and reporting kicking around in my head for a while. I've done some background research, and I haven't found any similar treatments of the topic anywhere else in either academia or in the popular press. I already have three different groups that I could interview and conduct field research with about the topic, and I also have a pretty strong theoretical and historical base to frame the writing. I'm used to academic publishing, but would be interested in writing this as a non-academic long-form essay. At the very least I'd be publishing this on my own webspace, but was curious about what the process would be like to try and sell it to an online venue? Is it better to write the thing first, or are there places which I could propose the article to beforehand? Is it even realistic to think that I could sell an article without being a previously published author in the mainstream press?
Words On Film
I want to read more essays on individual films, along the lines of Tim Kreider's "Introducing Sociology" (on Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.) [more inside]
Elevate my whatever.
What blogs are well written and worth following to broaden my mind? [more inside]
Can art/music/writing/film change us?
I'm looking to freshen up the assigned readings for an undergraduate writing class that I'm about to start teaching. The theme of the class is art (by which I mean not only visual art, but also music, film, and writing) and social change--that is, whether the former can actually help to achieve the latter. I have some readings on the topic but am looking for more. Help me, hive mind!
Grammar Books for a College Student with No College-Level Writing Skills
I am looking for recommendations on two books. I'm looking for a book that will teach me how to write essays and how to essentially write like a college student. I am also looking for a grammar book that will teach me VERY basic and simple grammar rules. For example, the difference between i.e. and e.g., when to use a comma, et cetera. Help is very much appreciated! [more inside]