Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative

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Synopsis
"How lovely to discover a book on the craft of writing that is also fun to read . . . Alison asserts that the best stories follow patterns in nature, and by defining these new styles she offers writers the freedom to explore but with enough guidance to thrive." ―Maris Kreizman, VultureA Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019 | A Poets & Writers Best Books for WritersAs Jane Alison writes in the introduction to her insightful and appealing book about the craft of writing: &“For centuries there&’s been one path through fiction we&’re most likely to travel― one we&’re actually told to follow―and that&’s the dramatic arc: a situation arises, grows tense, reaches a peak, subsides . . . But something that swells and tautens until climax, then collapses? Bit masculosexual, no? So many other patterns run through nature, tracing other deep motions in life. Why not draw on them, too?"W. G. Sebald&’s Emigrants was the first novel to show Alison how forward momentum can be created by way of pattern, rather than the traditional arc--or, in nature, wave. Other writers of nonlinear prose considered in her &“museum of specimens&” include Nicholson Baker, Anne Carson, Marguerite Duras, Gabriel García Márquez, Jamaica Kincaid, Clarice Lispector, Susan Minot, David Mitchell, Caryl Phillips, and Mary Robison.Meander, Spiral, Explode is a singular and brilliant elucidation of literary strategies that also brings high spirits and wit to its original conclusions. It is a liberating manifesto that says, Let&’s leave the outdated modes behind and, in thinking of new modes, bring feeling back to experimentation. It will appeal to serious readers and writers alike.
Copyright:
2019

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
272 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781948226141
Related ISBNs:
9781948226134
Publisher:
Catapult
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Jane Alison
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Self-Help, Literature and Fiction, Language Arts
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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