Lit from Within

Kevin Haworth's novel The Discontinuity of Small Things was winner of the Samuel Goldberg Prize for best Jewish fiction and finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Price. He teaches writing at Ohio University and serves as executive editor of Ohio University Press/Swallow Press.Dinty W. Moore's memoir Between Panic & Desire was the winner of the Grub Street Nonfiction Book Prize in 2009. His other books include The Accidental Buddhist, Toothpick Men, and The Emperor's Virtual Clothes. He is a professor of nonfiction writing at Ohio University.

"This collection of 15 essays, written by literary luminaries such as poet Billy Collins, novelist Francine Prose and nonfiction author Rick Bass, offers wonderful insight into the working habits of some of America's most celebrated authors…. Smart, concise and thought-provoking, this collection is a treasure for writers looking to improve their craft." (The Writer) "The essays are detailed and sophisticated enough to appeal to writers, particularly novice writers, yet general enough to appeal to readers who are not necessarily writers." (NewPages) "Reading Lit From Within reminded me of the best of the genre, including Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird, Nancie Atwell's In the Middle and Stephen Koch's The Modern Library Writer's Workshop. (The Plain Dealer) "Representing widely diverse approaches, the result is a useful book containing a wealth of creative writing wisdom." (Book News) "The pieces in Lit from Within can be laugh-out-loud funny or seriously contemplative; either way, they all contain nuggets of wisdom that will speak to anyone who sits down to write." (Ohio Today)

• Table of Contents * Acknowledgments * Introduction * RON CARLSON The Wrong Answer * ROBIN HEMLEY Confessions of a Navel Gazer * FRANCINE PROSE Gesture * BILLY COLLINS The Myth of Craft Thoughts on the Writing of Poetry * PETER HO DAVIES Only Collect Something about the Short Story Collection * CHARLES BAXTER Stillness * DAVID KIRBY Thirteen Things I Hate about Poetry * CLAIRE BATEMAN Some Questions about Questions * STEPHEN DUNN The Poem, Its Buried Subject, and the Revisionist Reader Behind "The Guardian Angel" * LEE K. ABBOTT Thirteen Things about the Contemporary Short Story That Really Hack Me Off * TONY HOAGLAND Litany, Gamesmanship, and Representation Charting the Old to the New Poetry * MAGGIE NELSON All That Is the Case Some Thoughts on Fact in Nonfiction and Documentary Poetry * CARL DENNIS A Poem of Character * RICK BASS Good Fortune Befell Me Notes on the Writer/Editor Relationship * MARY RUEFLE Someone Reading a Book Is a Sign of Order in the World * Credits