In Brief: Short Takes on the Personal

Bys: Kitchen, Judith and Jones, Mary Paumier

Book Overview

In their previous collection Judith Kitchen and Mary Paumier Jones coined the term short for those creative nonfiction pieces -- literary rather than informational, and characteristically short -- that are attracting our finest writers. Now, with a more introspective focus, this new collection emphasizes the personal as a way of seeing the world, of expressing an interior life. It is intimate without being maudlin, it is private without being secret. From Harriet Doerr's recollection of a halcyon time to Josephine Jacobsen's reverie on memory, In Brief offers vivid glimpses into the ways experience can be shaped in language that is fresh and inventive. The seventy-two authors here include the known -- John McPhee, Cythia Ozick, James Salter -- as well as remarkable new writers. Essays (all under 2000 words) range from Frank McCourt's search for his father in the pubs of Limerick to William Maxwell's thoughts about growing old; from Charles Baxter's early experience of reading to Brady Udall's confession as a liar. Patricia Hampl recalls meals at her grandmother's house, while Jane Brox contemplates the meaning of bread. In each piece, imagination becomes a way to explore reality. The real world we are fortunate enough to live in is revealed as endlessly rich and deep.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393319075
• ISBN13: 9780393319071
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Delightful

An object lesson in how to cut to the chase; an example of tiny bites of beautiful writing; the art of the flash essay. By whatever name you call it, In Brief is proof that a piece of writing sometimes needn't be more than a paragraph or two in length to move readers and give them something profound, funny, enlightening, or beautiful to take away with them. This refreshing collection of teensy personal essays is a real winner.

Too Busy To Read

This is a great book if you like to read but you never feel you have the time. These stories can each be read in a matter of minutes. This was a textbook for my creative non-fiction class and I think there are some great examples of the creative non-fiction format. The only downside I would say is that most of the stories are of a serious nature, so while the stories are short, I wouldn't call it 'light' reading.

A Review of In Brief: Short Takes on the Personal

I find this book an excellent companion to Kitchen's and Jones' first book on the creative nonfiction "short" entitled, In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction. The evolution of creative nonfiction and the "short" is apparent in these pages. No longer is it mandatory that a literary journalist or creative nonfiction writer "immerse" the reader in a person, place or thing. These pieces of creative nonfiction show that writers can make a simple journal entry, letter, or, for that fact, an email, stand on its own -- that even the smallest episode in our lives, or simple everyday pictures we've taken with our mind's eye, can have "symbolic realities." As a person who reads and writes prose and poetry, I find the brevity, and yet complexity, of the works appealing. Mary Oliver, who I've enjoyed as a poet, turns a poetic list of items she finds at the beach into a prose piece on beauty and existence. Kimberly Gorall turns a brief childhood conversation with her mother into a statement about womanhood. William Heyen uses one simple paragraph explaining the habits of an insect to an analogy on creativity and imagination. A bright high school senior, Janice Best (editor of Elan), uses an ingenius email format to try to explain why she writes. All of these "shorts" have a similar element -- they start with detail -- an intense focus -- and they end making a statement about our human existence. I have been liberated by the form presented in these pages -- and plan to teach college students using this book as a reader. But I believe any one who enjoys learning about the 'human condition' will enjoy this book. It's a quick read, but the impact of the material here lasts a long time.