The Essential Don Murray: Lessons from America's Greatest Writing Teacher

by Donald M. Murray, Thomas Newkirk (Editor), Lisa C. Miller (Editor)

Lessons from America's Greatest Writing Teacher Don Murray's mission was to demystify writing by revealing as much as possible about the habits, processes, and practices of writers. This book carries on his work and shows the evolution of his thinking by collecting his most influential pieces as well as unpublished essays, entries from his daybook, drawings, and numerous examples of his famous handouts. KEY WORKS ON WRITING IN ONE COLLECTION Writing as How Writing Finds Its Own Meaning The Listening Reflections on the Writing Conference Teaching the Other The Writer's First Reader Write Before Writing Writing Badly to Write Searching for the Instructive Line All Writing is Autobiography and more 60 years of work and THE ESSENTIAL DON MURRAY Don Murray on... teaching writing as process, not product "Instead of teaching finished writing, we should teach unfinished writing, and glory in its unfinishedness. We work with language in action. We share with our students the continual excitement of choosing one word instead of another, of searching for the one true word. This is not a question of correct or incorrect, of etiquette or custom. This is a matter of far higher importance." understanding the writing process "The process of making meaning with written language can not be understood by looking backward from a finished page. Process can not be inferred from product any more than a pig can be inferred from a sausage. It is possible, however, for us to follow the process forward from blank page to final draft and learn something of what happens." knowing the writer within "There is always magic in this for me, and wonder because I do not know what I am going to say until it is said. The writer within is always a stranger, with a grin, a top hat and long, quick fingers which produce what was not there before. I shall never know this magic man well, although he has been with me for sixty years. He entices me with his capacity for surprise." doing the work of writing "Writing is primarily not a matter of talent, of dedication, of vision, of vocabulary, of style, but simply a matter of sitting. The writer is a person who writes." To request this title as a Desk/Exam copy, .

Genres: Writing, Teaching, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Education

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2009

About the author

Donald Morison Murray

Reviews

[Donalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book for writers and writing teachers. I read one essay a week as Inspiration and reflection.

[Annalynn Mueller]

Read this one for class and enjoyed it a lot. Great for teachers, writers, and writing teachers :))

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Writing is primarily not a matter of talent, of dedication, of vision, of vocabulary, of style, but simply a matter of sitting. The writer is the person who writes.”

I read this book slowly, about one or two essays a day, but it was worth it! There were so many take-aways:
-Never a day without a line
-You have to let yourself write badly in order to write well
-Let the writing lead to meaning
-Writing is rewriting
-All writing is autobiographical
-Draft quickly and outrun the inner censor
-A writer is someone who sits every day and does the hard work of writing
-There should be joy in the process of writing
-Teach writing as a process not a product
-etc!

This is a book I’ll be returning to again and again in both my writing and teaching practice.

[Matthew Ferrari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid. Especially for its "gems" I can use for teaching. That said, it suffers from the white, male, privilege ethos. Keep that on the front burner and take these lessons for what they are worth-- adapt them accordingly to our current climate and level of awarness.

[Mick O'Seasnain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed everything that I thought I knew about writing. Absolutely amazing...

[Mike Radue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking approach to writing.

[BookChampions · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've heard and read more Donald Murray name-drops throughout my career than actually picking up his actual writing. I have found over the years it pretty difficult to get my hands on the texts or knowing where to start. This book, as a result, truly is essential. It's interesting to see the influence his thinking has had on writing instruction (considering that most of these essays were written earlier than 1986) while still mainstream English education practices are far from his suggestions. I'm excited to finally get the message directly from the horse's mouth--and I'm poised to make serious changes to my own methods this school year. Plus, I need to make more time for my own writing. Murray is the perfect role model from me at this point in my life.

[Jennifer Louden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great insight into teaching writing and writing process itself. I love seeing pages of people editing their work. Especially useful for people teaching writing to young people in a traditional school setting - if not, you might skim those parts.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one I'm browsing in a lazy, take-your-time kind of way. A perfect "dip in and out" book while reading another!

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book on how the writing process works! One of the best foundational texts out there on how to write and how to find your voice while writing. I would definitely recommend this.

[Mark Dykeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful essays on the craft and writing as a way of thinking. Read it.

[Thomas Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book to absorb versus read. I would have given it five stars if I knew I was getting a book for teachers of writing. I was still able to get some ideas.