Attack of the copula spiders : and other essays on writing

A GLOBE & MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR 2012 “Glover is a master of narrative structure." —Wall Street Journal In the tradition of E.M. Forster, John Gardner, and James Wood, Douglas Glover has produced a book on writing at once erudite, anecdotal, instructive, and amusing. Attack of the Copula Spiders represents the accumulated wisdom of a remarkable literary career: novelist, short story writer, essayist, teacher and mentor, Glover has for decades been asking the vital questions. How does the way we read influence the way we write? What do craft books fail to teach aspiring writers about theme, about plot and subplot, about constructing point of view? How can we maintain drama on the level of the sentence—and explain drama in the sentences of others? What is the relationship of form and art? How do you make words live? Whether his subject is Alice Munro, Cervantes, or the creative writing classroom, Glover's take is frank and fresh, demonstrating again and again that graceful writers must first be strong readers. This collection is a call-to-arms for all lovers of English, and Attack of the Copula Spiders our best defense against the assaults of a post-literate age. Douglas Glover is the award-winning author of five story collections, four novels, and two works of non-fiction. He is currently on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing program. Praise for Douglas Glover "So sharp, so evocative, that the reader sees well beyond the tissue of words into ... the author's poetic grace." - The New Yorker "Glover invents his own assembly of critical approaches and theories that is eclectic, personal, scholarly, and smart ... a direction for future literary criticism to take." - The Denver Quarterly "A ribald, raunchy wit with a talent for searing self-investigation." - The Globe and Mail "Knotty, intelligent, often raucously funny." - Maclean's "Passionately intricate." - The Chicago Tribune "Darkly humorous, simultaneously restless and relentless." - Kirkus Reviews

appropriate for both academics and general readers

useful as a teaching tool for creative writing instructors (university or advanced high school groups)

written by a professional writer who has taught creative writing for over 20 years

examples of bad student writing may amuse teachers of English

by the author of the bestselling Elle (2003), shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and winner of the Governor-General's Award (Canada)

taps into spreading concern about online media/digital communication and the decline of literacy

Vitriolic and incisive, Douglas Glover's newest essays defend literature against the assaults of a post-literate age