Search

From a Southern storyteller and National Book Award–winning author, essays on her childhood, influences, and thoughts on writing and life. Now, with this collection of essays, readers can explore the author of Victory Over Japan throughout her career. From the Mississippi plantation of her childhood to pieces featured in Vogue, Outside, New Woman, and The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, Gilchrist comes alive. With more than forty pictures, essays about Gilchrist's thoughts on writing, and a peek into the books, teachers, and artists that influenced her work, this is required reading for any fan.“This book of “journals” is actually a carefully patterned quilt sewn of the author's NPR “entries” and a few assorted essays and speeches. Underlaid with a warm, subtle (sometimes precious) humor, these homey reflections on things near and far... manage, in their spare manner, to pare down to the deceptively simple truth of things.... This volume should provide welcome fare for Gilchrist fans.” —Kirkus Reviews

Gerber writes of her apprenticeships with celebrated writing teachers Andrew Lytle and Wallace Stegner and recounts her ghostly (and ghastly) experiences during a month at Yaddo, the famous retreat for artists. Gerber includes three pieces in the book—originally published as stories—but which blur the line between fiction and memoir, demonstrating Gerber's contention that the deepest secrets in life beget the most passionate fictions.

An idea that initiated through commentaries Ellen Gilchrist did for NPR, Falling Through Space provides a funny and intimate diary of a writer's self-discovery. Gilchrist's is a distinctive Southern voice whose life and memories are every bit as entertaining as the wild and poignant short stories for which she is famous. The short essays that anchor this book vividly explore the Mississippi plantation life of her childhood; the books, teachers, and artists who influenced her development; and her thoughts about writing and life in general. Gilchrist reveals her origins, influences, and the way she works when she writes. Required reading for any fan, this book is Gilchrist at her funniest and best.