Artists as Writers

A masterclass on living as a writer and developing your writing craft.

Part of the Living and Sustaining a Creative Life series, Artists as Writers joins the tradition of books designed or intended to inspire would-be writers to write. Yet, it distinguishes itself by offering succinct first-person narratives by writers of varied genres about the day-to-day life of writing for a living. 

Artists as Writers offers accounts of the journeys that thirty-two writers have taken, including what decisions were made; which paths were taken, rejected, and charted; and why. It answers the question: What magic keeps a writer writing?
Writers from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Nigeria, Palestine, Poland, and Sweden, as well as several American artists, contribute their stories.  They each provide vividly detailed accounts of the circuitous roads that each individual took to earn the title “writer.” These are richly descriptive stories from writers who write consistently, relating how they came to the writing life, who helped them get there, and what sustains them as writers.
 

Seph Rodney is a former senior critic and opinions editor for Hyperallergic, and is now a regular contributor to the New York Times. He is the author of The Personalization of the Museum Visit and a curator of contemporary art. He co-curated Get in the Game, a show on sports that opens at San Francisco MoMA in October 2024.

Steven G Fullwood’s published works include Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call (co-edited with Charles Stephens) and Carry the Word: A Bibliography of Black LGBTQ Books (co-edited with Lisa C. Moore). Recently, he served as the coordinator for Marking Time, Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration project, curated by Dr. Nicole R. Fleetwood.