Process of Speech: Puritan Religious Writing and Paradise Lost - Hardcover

Berry, Professor Boyd M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080181779X ISBN 13: 9780801817793

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976

About this title

From Library Journal

Making up this delightful collection are 30 short journalistic essays, originally published in Salon.com, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Los Angeles Times, among other places, and grouped under broad headings such as "Ordinary People," "Extraordinary People," and "Extraordinary Circumstances." Although it contains a useful albeit brief introductory chapter on good essay writing and how to conduct an interview with a subject, this is not a book about how to write narrative journalism. Rather, it is a fine example of the range of journalism professor Bloom's (Postville) own creative journalism; it instructs by example rather than by didacticism. As Bloom aptly observes, "good writing is storytelling, i.e., turning observation into narrative." Whether he is interviewing Dr. Michael Levitt, an expert on flatulence ("Dr. Fart Speaks") or Dr. Ruth Westheimer, our popular culture's expert on sex ("The Joy of Dr. Ruth"), Bloom captures his subjects with verve and interest. Somewhat less insightful are the short reflections accompanying each story that reveal their genesis and writing. Students wanting direction on their own writing process might need to look elsewhere, although the suggested "assignments" at the end of each chapter might be useful; readers of creative journalism will enjoy this book. Herbert E. Shapiro, SUNY/Empire State Coll., Rochester
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1976
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080181779X
• ISBN 13: 9780801817793
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320