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When the Rewards Can Be So Great: Essays on Writing and the Writing Life
When the Rewards Can Be So Great is a selection of craft talks delivered by faculty at the Pacific University MFA in Writing program. The essays in this exciting collection are at times deeply personal, providing insight into the development of the writers in their craft; and at times sharply practical and filled with long-tested approaches for writing with power and effectiveness. All are characterized by care, generosity, and good humor and reflect a wonderfully welcoming eclecticism of styles, interests, traditions, and diversity of voices.
Includes essays by Carolyn Coman, John McNally, Marvin Bell, Pam Houston, Scott Korb, Benjamin Percy, Claire Davis, Sandra Alcosser, Valerie Laken, Mike Magnuson, Ellen Bass, Kwame Dawes, Steve Amick, Laura Hendrie, David Long, Mary Helen Stefaniak, Dorianne Laux, and Debra Gwartney.
Includes essays by Carolyn Coman, John McNally, Marvin Bell, Pam Houston, Scott Korb, Benjamin Percy, Claire Davis, Sandra Alcosser, Valerie Laken, Mike Magnuson, Ellen Bass, Kwame Dawes, Steve Amick, Laura Hendrie, David Long, Mary Helen Stefaniak, Dorianne Laux, and Debra Gwartney.
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2016
13 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Kwame Dawes
119 books180 followersBorn in Ghana in 1962, Kwame Dawes spent most of his childhood and early adult life in Jamaica . As a poet, he is profoundly influenced by the rhythms and textures of that lush place, citing in a recent interview his "spiritual, intellectual, and emotional engagement with reggae music." His book Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius remains the most authoritative study of the lyrics of Bob Marley.
His 11th collection of verse, Wisteria: Poems From the Swamp Country, was published in January 2006. In February, 2007 Akashic Books published his novel, She's Gone and Peepal Tree Books published his 12th collection of poetry, Impossible Flying, and his non-fiction work, A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative.
His essays have appeared in numerous journals including Bomb Magazine, The London Review of Books, Granta, Essence, World Literature Today and Double Take Magazine.
In October, 2007, his thirteenth book of poems, Gomer's Song will appear on the Black Goat imprint of Akashic Books. Dawes has seen produced some twenty of his plays over the past twenty-five years including, most recently a production of his musical, One Love, at the Lyric Hammersmith in London .
Kwame Dawes is Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts and Founder and executive Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He is the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year.
His 11th collection of verse, Wisteria: Poems From the Swamp Country, was published in January 2006. In February, 2007 Akashic Books published his novel, She's Gone and Peepal Tree Books published his 12th collection of poetry, Impossible Flying, and his non-fiction work, A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative.
His essays have appeared in numerous journals including Bomb Magazine, The London Review of Books, Granta, Essence, World Literature Today and Double Take Magazine.
In October, 2007, his thirteenth book of poems, Gomer's Song will appear on the Black Goat imprint of Akashic Books. Dawes has seen produced some twenty of his plays over the past twenty-five years including, most recently a production of his musical, One Love, at the Lyric Hammersmith in London .
Kwame Dawes is Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts and Founder and executive Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He is the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 20, 2025
Why I read books on writing
Because I don’t write everyday
And reading about writing
Gives me the illusion that I’m
Serious about what I don’t do
Because I love learning rules
I know I will never apply
Because it is in my nature
To act like a punk
Because some people write better
About writing than about
What they did last summer
Or the death of their dogs
Because somebody has to read
These books to keep them in print
And I’m a perfect sucker
For books like these
Because I never felt I knew
How to write anything properly
Let alone snide remarks
About books on writing
Because I wanna be a better
Writer of snide remarks
I wanna be so snide even
My mother will be proud of me
Because I have absolutely
No clue what I'm doing
And it comforts me to know
There are others who do
Read
May 12, 2024Readers like to read about reading and pick up reading recommendations. Writers, too, with the added pleasure of reading about writing to pick up writing tips. The advantage to a well-curated anthology like this is multiple voices with multiple topics on multiple genres, in this case fiction, essays, and poetry.
The three major sections in this book are "The Courage To Sound Like Ourselves" Reflections on the Writing Life, "The Geography of the Page" Reflections on the Writing Process, and "Specificity? Yes. But Only If It's Relevant" Reflections on the Nuts and Bolts of Writing.
Most of the authors are either accomplished writers in their strawberry fields or MFA professors who have experience with students of the craft. For poetry, we have talks on the power of simple lines, especially when juxtaposed with a single complicated one. Also on how to capture the essence of moment (kind of like catching fireflies or a living sand dollar, which you can value all the more by chucking into deep waters).
There are also thoughtful debates on POV in fiction writing, especially novice writers' addiction to the 1st-person POV, which everyone thinks is easiest and most attractive when, in fact, it is fraught with traps we don't even know about (spelled out here). Thus, the advantages of 3rd-person limited (also spelled out here).
One piece tackles beginning writers' love of specificity, showing they've learned something ("Look, Ma! No hands!") without regard to whether it's superfluous (and it often is). Another takes a similar tack on setting. Beginners give fresh details in specific language ("Now watch THIS trick, Ma!"), but if it's of little use to characterization or mood, why is the extraneous stuff there? Um. Beats me.
Laurie Hendrie has a nice piece on what she calls the "Jaws of Life" character -- e.g. the one bigger than life. All the characterization rules are different for this type of character, and the jaws-of-life character has things to offer your narrative, too, as long as you follow a few simple rules (like only one per story or novel, thank you).
Anyway, lots of food for thought here, no matter what your writing goals. For those who can't afford MFA's, I mean. And I suspect there are a few out there, given the price tags colleges are putting on these things. Laughable, and without any guarantees, but that's collegiate life, no?
The three major sections in this book are "The Courage To Sound Like Ourselves" Reflections on the Writing Life, "The Geography of the Page" Reflections on the Writing Process, and "Specificity? Yes. But Only If It's Relevant" Reflections on the Nuts and Bolts of Writing.
Most of the authors are either accomplished writers in their strawberry fields or MFA professors who have experience with students of the craft. For poetry, we have talks on the power of simple lines, especially when juxtaposed with a single complicated one. Also on how to capture the essence of moment (kind of like catching fireflies or a living sand dollar, which you can value all the more by chucking into deep waters).
There are also thoughtful debates on POV in fiction writing, especially novice writers' addiction to the 1st-person POV, which everyone thinks is easiest and most attractive when, in fact, it is fraught with traps we don't even know about (spelled out here). Thus, the advantages of 3rd-person limited (also spelled out here).
One piece tackles beginning writers' love of specificity, showing they've learned something ("Look, Ma! No hands!") without regard to whether it's superfluous (and it often is). Another takes a similar tack on setting. Beginners give fresh details in specific language ("Now watch THIS trick, Ma!"), but if it's of little use to characterization or mood, why is the extraneous stuff there? Um. Beats me.
Laurie Hendrie has a nice piece on what she calls the "Jaws of Life" character -- e.g. the one bigger than life. All the characterization rules are different for this type of character, and the jaws-of-life character has things to offer your narrative, too, as long as you follow a few simple rules (like only one per story or novel, thank you).
Anyway, lots of food for thought here, no matter what your writing goals. For those who can't afford MFA's, I mean. And I suspect there are a few out there, given the price tags colleges are putting on these things. Laughable, and without any guarantees, but that's collegiate life, no?
April 1, 2018
I taught this book in my advanced creative nonfiction class this year. Several of the essays, devoted to both fiction and nonfiction in this anthology, are absolutely stunning. My personal favorites were the ones by Benjamin Percy and Claire Davis. Highly recommended to all writers!
July 7, 2020
There are real gems in this collection (esp. essays by Dawes, Bass, Daux, Bell), but they are brought down by a few very long duds (I nearly choked on the length and self-indulgent repetitiveness of the McNally essay, thereby losing out on the rest of the book). This collection is best suited for beginning writers.
May 18, 2020
This collection of essays about writing, created from the craft talks the faculty give at Pacific University, is a brilliant and inspiring book that looks at many facets of the writing process. Some of the essays are more didactic than others, using literary examples to discuss point of view, format and writing style. John McNally offers “The Shame, the Necessity, the Discouragement, and the Freedom: Rejection, Failure and the Bigger Picture” to raise the art of writing beyond merely creating a product to sell. Benjamin Percy shows how giving characters real jobs can enrich a story Ellen Bass shares “The Poem of the Moment,” and David Long looks at the long and the short of sentences in “Nine Sentences.” Each essay could be—and probably is—a whole university class, but here we get to read and savor and learn.
February 21, 2019
Outstanding on every level. Pam Houston's chapter specifically floored me. Mary Helen Stefaniak's six rules for all first-person narrators was spot on. John McNally is my kind of cynic! And Kawme Dawes crushed the editing on this one. I even found a new respect for poetry. Not that I didn't respect it previously, but it is admittedly not something I gravitate toward. Now I will. Now I do. This book has something to offer every facet of writer/author/poet/dreamer/aspiring talent.
August 30, 2018
This book was recommended by a workshop instructor, and it consists of essays from the Paciific MFA program written by faculty, essays that were adapted from in-person MFA workshops. I found some essays more instructive than others, just from a personal interest perspective. Highly recommended for writers who want to add to their toolbox.
December 19, 2018
Useful collections of essays on the craft and also process of writing. The selections are varied, and some will resonate or be more helpful to some than others. That's the point of an anthology, though, for browsing and maybe finding some little piece of advice or point of view that opens a door.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews