Views from the Loft: A Portable Writer's Workshop

Founded nearly four decades ago by a group of young writers, the Loft has become our nation’s largest independent literary center. The dream animating its inception—to build a community of writers and readers—has borne remarkable fruit, and today the Loft’s community extends from its home in Minneapolis to writers and readers around the world.

Gathering the collected wisdom of that community—from practical tips and suggestions to ruminations on the mystery of the writing process—this invaluable book provides writers everywhere with the tools and inspiration they need to thrive. Invigorating, insightful, and illuminating throughout, this portable workshop is essential for writers of all levels.

Views from the Loft collects more than sixty essays, including those from luminaries including: Grace Paley on the writer’s responsibility in the world. Rick Bass on keeping your schedule open for the muse. Marilyn Chin on grandfathers, cowlicks, and shoe glue in first drafts of poems. Lewis Hyde on embracing the mythology of wholeness in nonfiction. Ted Kooser on fostering a poetic life. And Susan Straight on writing through clogged toilets, broken windows, and the other charms of single-motherhood.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, The Loft is the largest independent literary center in the country, offering writing classes at all levels, readings and competitions, providing mentorship, and working to "support the artistic development of writers, to foster a writing community, and to build an audience for literature." Despite the book's subtitle, this is not a pocket-sized workshop, but rather a compendium of pieces by writers-some famous, some less so-loosely arranged under a series of headings: Teaching, Writing, Critique, Publication, and "Writing for Life." Like many compilations, it's a mixed bag. The interviews in particular cover familiar ground, and beginning writers hoping for practical tips should look elsewhere. Slightly more seasoned scribes will find some help and heart, notably from Katrina Vandenberg's "Some Notes on Negative Capability," which reminds writers to imagine the internal life of objects, and applies to far more than its stated topic. With essays or interviews from over 60 contributors, serious readers will enjoy getting an inside look at the processes and practices that help fill the empty page.
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