The Art of Time in Memoir: Then, Again (Art of...)

The Art Of series is a new line of books reinvigorating the practice of craft and criticism. Each book will be a brief, witty, and useful exploration of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry by a writer impassioned by a singular craft issue. The Art Of volumes will provide a series of sustained examinations of key but sometimes neglected aspects of creative writing by some of contemporary literature's finest practioners. In __The Art of Time in Memoir__, critic and memoirist Sven Birkerts examines the human impulse to write about the self. By examining memoirs such as Vladimir Nabokov's __Speak, Memory__; Virginia Woolf's unfinished __A Sketch of the Past__; and Mary Karr's __The Liars' Club__, Birkerts describes the memoirist's essential art of assembling patterns of meaning, stirring to life our own sense of past and present. In The Art Of Time In Memoir, Critic, Editor, And Memoirist Sven Birkerts Examines The Human Impulse To Write About The Self. Memoir Is, For Better And Often For Worse, The Genre Of Our Times, Birkerts Writes. But What Makes One Memoir Memorable And Another Self-serving? What Determines The Difference Between Graceful Disclosure And Sensational Self-exposure? Birkerts Argues That The Memoirist's Strategies For Presenting The Subjective Experience Of Time Reveal The Power And Resonance Of The Writer's Life. By Examining Memoirs Such As Vladimir Nabokov's Speak, Memory, Virginia Woolf's Unfinished A Sketch Of The Past, And Mary Karr's The Liars' Club, Birkerts Describes The Memoirist's Essential Art Of Assembling Patterns Of Meaning, How The Work Stirs To Life Our Own Sense Of Past And Present.--jacket. Table Of Contents -- The Time Of Our Lives -- Paradises Lost: The Lyrical Seekers -- Coming-of-age -- Fathers And Sons -- Mothers And Daughters -- Trauma And Memory. Sven Birkerts. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 193-194).

The Art Of series is a new line of books reinvigorating the practice of craft and criticism. Each book will be a brief, witty, and useful exploration of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry by a writer impassioned by a singular craft issue. The Art Of volumes will provide a series of sustained examinations of key but sometimes neglected aspects of creative writing by some of contemporary literature's finest practioners.

In The Art of Time in Memoir, critic and memoirist Sven Birkerts examines the human impulse to write about the self. By examining memoirs such as Vladimir Nabokov's Speak, Memory; Virginia Woolf's unfinished A Sketch of the Past; and Mary Karr's The Liars' Club, Birkerts describes the memoirist's essential art of assembling patterns of meaning, stirring to life our own sense of past and present.