Some Necessary Angels: Essays on Writing and Politics

by Jay Parini

Book Overview

Distinguished poet and novelist Jay Parini presents some of his best essays--both classic and unpublished works--on topics ranging from baseball to Frost and Emerson to the culture of creative writing. For aspiring writers, Some Necessary Angels is an illuminating glimpse into the workshop of a distinguished novelist and critic. For readers who share Parini's love of language, it is an invigorating expression of faith.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231110707
• ISBN13: 9780231110709
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.2"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Elegant essays

These essays brim over with authorial skill... They are at turns funny, wise, and introspective. They examine the world with a keen eye for detail. Excellent pieces, really. Quite good.

Beautiful and measured, Parini's essays use the genre well.

The essays in Jay Parini's book, Some Necessary Angels, traverse the line between memoir, literary essay, and political essay. Ultimately, Parini proves that the distinctions between these are meaningless; good writing is good writing--if it is memorable, it will not fit within any set of boundaries. Those familiar with Parini's fiction will know that he often works to blur boundaries; what is historically pinpointed becomes less important than the weight and drama of each of his books' moments. These essays are wonderful to read, to spend time with, in the morning or at night. They provide a certain quietude, and this quality, so precious in today's general loudness, makes them truly remarkable.