Author Photo: Portraits, 1983-2002

by Marion Ettlinger (Photographer), Richard Ford (Foreword by)

The writing life has long captured our collective imagination. What is it about writers, we wonder, that empowers them to work words into shapes and patterns that move us? The most affecting photographs possess that same power -- to reach out upon first sight, to capture our hearts and minds, to leave us smitten.
Such is the feeling that comes from gazing at the work of Marion Ettlinger, a photographer celebrated for her "literary portrait power" (The Wall Street Journal). Author Photo collects, for the first time in book form, more than two hundred of Ettlinger's most famous photographs. Immortalized in these pages are many of America's greatest writers, including Raymond Carver, Francine Prose, Walter Mosley, Mary Karr, John Irving, Joyce Carol Oates, Truman Capote, Cormac McCarthy, Patricia Highsmith, Ken Kesey, Edwidge Danticat, and Jeffrey Eugenides.
According to one of Ettlinger's Pulitzer Prize-winning subjects, "starkness and a sense of shadows" are at the core of her artistic allure. Shot exclusively in natural light and in black-and-white film, each of these images is an intimate artwork, putting the reader closer than ever before to the writers they revere and admire. A photographic paean to the literary spirit, Author Photo opens a rare and revealing window onto the timelessness of creativity.

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a collection of portraits! To see some & be like, "So, that is what so-and-so looks like!" And, in some, like Raymond Carver's, the lighting makes it appear to be an oil painting. Good fun & good way to get ideas for my endless "to read" list.

[Brian Kovesci · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photos are good, the essay is crap.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some absolutely stunning portraits. A real callenge would be to read a book by every author pictured.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

These photos amaze me- all shot in natural light with just a camera and a tripod. They're gritty yet somehow polished and many almost have the look of pencil drawings. They're truly fascinating. I've admired Ettlinger's work for years, before I even realized that the photos I've loved so much were all by the same photographer. It's such a treat to have some of her best work compiled in this book.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally love Ettlinger's photos. They're so classic-looking and sometimes they're even slyly hilarious (whether intentional or not).

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos. Who knew so many writers were so attractive? Wow.

[Rachel Starnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Richard Ford's forward to this book-- he pretty much nails it.