Biography: The Craft and the Calling

by Catherine Drinker Bowen

Genres: Biography, Writing, Nonfiction

174 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Catherine Drinker Bowen was born as Catherine Drinker on the Haverford College campus on January 1, 1897, to a prominent Quaker family. She was an accomplished violinist who studied for a musical career at the Peabody Institute and the Juilliard School of Music, but ultimately decided to become a writer. She had no formal writing education and no academic career, but became a bestselling American biographer and writer despite criticism from academics. Her earliest biographies were about musicians. Bowen did all her own research, without hiring research assistants, and sometimes took the controversial step of interviewing subjects without taking notes.

Reviews

[Sophie]

I don't plan on writing any biographies (or even any autobiographies), but I still found this book fascinating. To be given insight into an artist's methods and inspiration is always compelling, even when the art is one that I can only dimly appreciate. If nothing else, it's worth reading for the examples the author cites from biographies she admires. My to-be-read pile grew exponentially.

[Rob]

While this is an older book it still holds a lot of good information for the prospective biographer. Pragmatic enough for the writer seeking technical advice it also delves somewhat into light theory. Certainly some of Bowen's advice is long past its prime (recommending the long-forgotten Dictionary of American Biography), but the essence remains fresh and vital.

[Dan]

One of the better books I have read on the craft of writing in a very long time. Though her focus is on biography, Bowen takes the reader through every step of writing how to begin, finding a storyline and focus, the character's voice. A small book, but very motivational, with plenty of her own missteps as examples to learn from.plan to look for other books by Bowen now.