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Views From the Loft: A Portable Writer's Workshop
Founded nearly four decades ago by a group of young writers, the Loft has become our nation’s largest independent literary center. The dream animating its inception—to build a community of writers and readers—has borne remarkable fruit, and today the Loft’s community extends from its home in Minneapolis to writers and readers around the world. Gathering the collected wisdom of that community—from practical tips and suggestions to ruminations on the mystery of the writing process—this invaluable book provides writers everywhere with the tools and inspiration they need to thrive. Invigorating, insightful, and illuminating throughout, this portable workshop is essential for writers of all levels. Views from the Loft collects more than sixty essays, including those from luminaries Grace Paley on the writer’s responsibility in the world. Rick Bass on keeping your schedule open for the muse. Marilyn Chin on grandfathers, cowlicks, and shoe glue in first drafts of poems. Lewis Hyde on embracing the mythology of wholeness in nonfiction. Ted Kooser on fostering a poetic life. And Susan Straight on writing through clogged toilets, broken windows, and the other charms of single-motherhood.
372 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 3, 2010
I think I've realized I don't really like books on writing...
May 26, 2015
“Views from the Loft” is an amazing collection of personal and academic essays from The Loft Literary Center in Minnesota. Broken into five sections: “Teaching”, “Writing”, “Critique”, “Publication”, and “Writing for Life”, this self-proclaimed “portable writers workshop” offers everything a writer could want in an essay collection about writing. Some highlights:
“Comes a Pony” by Kate DiCamillo, delves into the imagination, the unwavering belief of youthful naiveté, the creative ability to conjure things into being, and the utter faith in the power of a story well-told: all that is necessary for surviving the writing life.
“Balancing Subtlety and Sledgehammers” by William Reichard, asks what power individual words hold, and what place does poetry have in a world filled with so many other concerns, essentially getting at the question of “what is it to be a poet in our unpoetic world”.
“Tesoros” by Sandra Benítez tells the story of a trunk bought at a thrift store, with a lock but no key: a trunk filled with treasures unknown, that acts as a metaphor for storytelling and writing, the possibilities of reality and the limitlessness of the imagination.
Emilie Buschwald’s interview with Grace Paley reminds readers that the wise poet and activist may have never said a less-than-brilliant thing in her life.
“On Poetry” by Yehuda Amichai reminds readers that poetry is political, and that while poetry lives in the real world, life must come before art.
“On Tour” by Shannon Olson digs into the complexities of truth telling and the expectations of an audience, in both fiction and nonfiction writing.
“Got Them Poetry Blues” by Adrian C. Louis was by far my favorite piece in the entire collection, reading like Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet”. It begins with decidedly unpoetic young boys and turns into a gorgeous meditation on poetry and life.
“Comes a Pony” by Kate DiCamillo, delves into the imagination, the unwavering belief of youthful naiveté, the creative ability to conjure things into being, and the utter faith in the power of a story well-told: all that is necessary for surviving the writing life.
“Balancing Subtlety and Sledgehammers” by William Reichard, asks what power individual words hold, and what place does poetry have in a world filled with so many other concerns, essentially getting at the question of “what is it to be a poet in our unpoetic world”.
“Tesoros” by Sandra Benítez tells the story of a trunk bought at a thrift store, with a lock but no key: a trunk filled with treasures unknown, that acts as a metaphor for storytelling and writing, the possibilities of reality and the limitlessness of the imagination.
Emilie Buschwald’s interview with Grace Paley reminds readers that the wise poet and activist may have never said a less-than-brilliant thing in her life.
“On Poetry” by Yehuda Amichai reminds readers that poetry is political, and that while poetry lives in the real world, life must come before art.
“On Tour” by Shannon Olson digs into the complexities of truth telling and the expectations of an audience, in both fiction and nonfiction writing.
“Got Them Poetry Blues” by Adrian C. Louis was by far my favorite piece in the entire collection, reading like Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet”. It begins with decidedly unpoetic young boys and turns into a gorgeous meditation on poetry and life.
August 21, 2011
There have been plenty of authors who have contributed to the Loft Literary Center over the years and Daniel Slager presents the collected wisdom of it in Views From The Loft.
This anthology for writers is a pretty wild mix of interviews, articles, and essays (or shall I say musings) by a wide array of authors. While the subtitle of the book, A Portable Writer's Workshop, suggests that the book provides actual tips on writing, publishing, critique, etc. it only does so to a certain extent. I felt that it gives more insight into individual writer's minds than being a how-to manual. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but those who are just taking their first baby steps as writers will probably not be able to gain that much from reading the book.
Personally I enjoyed most of the book, though the diversity of the content is also a drawback. I realize that the Loft's mission has always been to reach readers and writers who care about the written word in all its possibilities, thus featuring a very broad spectrum of pieces. I would have preferred smaller volumes focusing, for example, solely on poetry, compared to the vast collection at hand.
All in all I found essays that were outstanding as well as interviews that bordered on boring, but this is something you always have to live with in anthologies, as personal tastes naturally differ.
In short: A worthwhile dip into the creative minds of authors!
This anthology for writers is a pretty wild mix of interviews, articles, and essays (or shall I say musings) by a wide array of authors. While the subtitle of the book, A Portable Writer's Workshop, suggests that the book provides actual tips on writing, publishing, critique, etc. it only does so to a certain extent. I felt that it gives more insight into individual writer's minds than being a how-to manual. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but those who are just taking their first baby steps as writers will probably not be able to gain that much from reading the book.
Personally I enjoyed most of the book, though the diversity of the content is also a drawback. I realize that the Loft's mission has always been to reach readers and writers who care about the written word in all its possibilities, thus featuring a very broad spectrum of pieces. I would have preferred smaller volumes focusing, for example, solely on poetry, compared to the vast collection at hand.
All in all I found essays that were outstanding as well as interviews that bordered on boring, but this is something you always have to live with in anthologies, as personal tastes naturally differ.
In short: A worthwhile dip into the creative minds of authors!
September 29, 2013
Five stars to Open Book, the literary center that is the home of The Loft Literary Center (and others), which provides support for writers of all cadres. This is a collection of stories, interviews, essays, poems and critiques. Perhaps TOO broad a range. Some GREAT stuff. Kate DiCamillo's opening story (which is true), "Comes A Pony", is one I have and will continue to reread and share with friends.
Found Roseanne's "A Partial Vocabulary Sheet" (p.155) very icompelling. Included in her list of sad nouns: grandmother, teacup.
Hhmmmmm.....I (grandmother being one of my titles) was just going to make myself a cup of tea, but perhaps I will reconsider. Go for a stroll instead, then reread "Comes a Pony".
Found Roseanne's "A Partial Vocabulary Sheet" (p.155) very icompelling. Included in her list of sad nouns: grandmother, teacup.
Hhmmmmm.....I (grandmother being one of my titles) was just going to make myself a cup of tea, but perhaps I will reconsider. Go for a stroll instead, then reread "Comes a Pony".
February 12, 2011
The problem with rating an anthology is that some essays are invariably more appealing than others. The ones I liked here I liked a lot, and the ones I found tedious I disliked a lot. On the whole, I think there were more I found only mediocre than ones I thought really good. The good ones included Mark Doty and Barrie Borich, which made me wonder if they were better because the two are both essay writers, and know how to structure and write essay more effectively than the fiction writers who wrote here. The one I thought was a gem, though, was by fiction writer Will Weaver, and it is definitely nonfiction, but reads like a story. A wonderful look at a writer's life.
July 14, 2014
This is a collection of essays from writers associated with literary organisation The Loft Literary Center, based in Minnesota, U.S. I find that books on writing generally fall into two categories; those that inspires by sharing other writers' thoughts on their creative journey and those which focus on the technical aspects (i.e. Elements of Style). This book belongs to the former and in this category I find Stephen King's On Writing much more powerful for readers to be inspired as well as to get a reality check as to what it really means to be a writer.
December 11, 2010
I mean, it's kind of hard to review the many different points of view that make up an anthology. I will say, though, that I was disappointed by the title. I was hoping to read more about "a portable writer's workshop" when instead it read more like a portable writer's conference. But anywhoo. There are some cool essays here, and some that I just outright disagree with (I won't tell you which ones, for either, because it is worth reading and deciding for yourself).
March 10, 2011
I feel a bit embarrassed that I've only just finished this book, considering I have an essay in it! It's a hodgepodge anthology of writing advice, so not exactly helpful if you want a logical exploration of the literary life. But there's a lot of rich, fresh perspectives in here. Reading VIEWS is a good testimony to the similarities between genres. I learned just as much from the poets here as I did from the creative nonfiction and fiction writers.
March 18, 2011
A terrific collection of writing that have appeared in the Loft Literary Center's newsletters over several decades...invaluable to a writer. (Disclosure, I'm a member of the Loft and have been a student of a few of these writers.)
August 27, 2010
Short essays about all aspects of writing, from inspiration to publication, from a wide range of major writers (Lewis Hyde, Mark Doty, Grace Paley, etc.). Good for quick dips.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews