“The
most important thing when starting out with essay writing is to find a voice
with which you're comfortable. You need to find a persona that is very much
like you, but slightly caricatured.” – Anne Fadiman
Born on this date in 1953, Fadiman
was a founding editor of the Library of Congress magazine Civilization
and has had a great career as a writer, editor and teacher of essays. But it was her award-winning book The
Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down that brought her the most acclaim (and
many awards). Researched in a small county hospital in California, it
examines a Hmong immigrant family and their cultural, linguistic, and medical
struggles in seeking treatment for their epileptic child. 
An intense reader as well as writer,
she noted that she is grateful for electronics and how they have
improved the lives of writers and readers alike. But while she reads e-books, she prefers a text copy in her hands.
“There is something about holding a
book - the smell and the world of association,” she said. “Even when e-books
are perfected, as they surely will be, I think it will be like being in bed
with a very well-made robot rather than a warm, soft, human being whom you
love.”
Share A Writer’s
Moment with a friend by clicking the g+1 button below
No comments:
Post a Comment