The Miss Dennis School of Writing: And Other Lessons from a Woman's Life

by Alice Steinbach

In this collection of her essays and columns, Pulitzer Prize-winning Baltimore Sun journalist Steinbach seeks to "rescue from insignificance some of the small events that make up a life." These pieces thus explore, with quiet grace, the unexpected pleasures that are gleaned from an appreciation of the "ordinary" - a sleeping cat, a blooming garden, a well-cooked meal. Such familiar - even ostensibly mundane - details of our lives, Steinbach maintains, play a far more important part in shaping our identities and our sense of our relationship to the world than do the "exotic encounters" or momentous events to which we attach much significance. Alternately poignant and humorous, sedately contemplative and bristling with emotional energy, Steinbach's various musings on the daily rhythms of her own moods and experiences transform "everyday life" into a rich and meaningful journey.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Essays, Travel, Writing

307 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Alice Steinbach, whose work at the Baltimore Sun was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1985, has been a freelance writer since 1999. She was appointed the 1998-1999 McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton University and is currently a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable essays, published in 1992. I had to constantly remind myself that 30 years ago was before cell phones, widespread internet use, Covid, and climate change.

[Relyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I do love a good essay. Seriously, if I were a writing teacher at college instead of for second graders, I would use this book as a text book. She crafts a perfect essay. Every time.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading her two other books, which I found inspiring, I figured I would dive right into the last of her books, which was the first published. This is a collection of essays originally published in the Baltimore Sun, now arranged according to topics: "Women and Men," "A Matter of Appearance," "Raising Children," "The Solo Life," and so on. The essays reveal a woman who treasures family and nature, the dominant themes through the book. The entire book is a tribute to her teacher Miss Dennis. who taught her how to write. It tracks the course of her lifetime with the last chapters poignantly facing aging and death. Particularly moving was the longer essay on the death of the author's mother. She writes frequently about her two sons, but never mentions their father ... she is quite about that phase of her life.

The writing makes for easy reading ... it is accessible and has a certain loveliness. She won a Pulitzer for her journalism, and it shows. I did, however, enjoy Educating Alice and Without Reservations more.

[Marilyn Sue Michel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good essays to read if you want to incorporate a more casual, amusing and thoughtful style to your writing.

[Mary Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old book, but I enjoyed it. Just a group of short stories written by a lady who was newspaper writer, and I enjoyed this one. Something you can pick up and come back to at any time.

[Dianne Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been a tbr forever. While I knew I liked Steinbach, I think reading this has been delayed due to something I found unappealing in the title, or the cover. This is fortunate because, as books are prone to do, she wiggled her way off the list and into my hands at just the time in which she would be most useful to me- a time of being greatly unsettled and homesick.
Essays are generally hit and miss even within a collection by someone you enjoy. This is true here as well, but when she connected, it was with a perfect pitch that spoke exactly to where I am now in my life. Her final chapter, a reminisce of her mother... just lovely.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read! I am a fan of Ms. Steinbach's books, but had never read this one. This book is basically a collection of some of her newspaper columns. Each selection was 1-3 pages in length, and it was not a continuing story, which made it very easy to pick up and put down. As always with Ms. Steinbach's writing, I would find pieces and parts that touched me...there are now many turned down pages in my book.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Five Star Rating!
A book of essays that are aliken to sitting with your best friend or group of friends. I started to stretch out my reading time because I didn't want the book to end.
Walks down Memory Lane, commentary and reflection. Even though there is no dialogue with another person, you find yourself feeling as though you are sitting in a cafe with a good friend. The essays reflect the best of "looking back" and "moving forward".

[Cheryl Schibley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Steinbach is one of my favorite authors and this is a very good book. It is a series of short stories and essays and is very touching, insightful and I love the way she writes. This one is a keeper.

[Adrianne Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such fun and poignant writing. Great for when you only have a few moments to read. These are a collection of her columns.

[Caroline]

r.b. Stasia

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a memoir, this is a series of essays and personal reflections. If you like a well crafted essay, this is a good place ot find one.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of columns by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. All are worth reading; some are wonderful.

[Lorisha A · Rating 4 out of 5]

awesome essays

[Stori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Steinbach is one of my favorite authors. She has such a beautiful way of describing things, and telling stories. Alice is funny, charming and insightful.

[John’aLee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Alice Steinbach’s books about her travels, but this one I had a hard time getting through. Maybe because I listened to it on Audible instead of reading the physical copy.

[Lisa Thomas]

Probably really good, but not in the mood for journalistic-type essays right now.