Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: The Art of Truth

by Bill Roorbach (Editor)

The most inclusive collection of creative nonfiction available, Contemporary Creative The Art of Truth is the only anthology that brings together examples of all three of the main forms in the the literary memoir, the personal essay, and literary journalism. Featuring a generous and diverse sampling of more than sixty works, this collection includes beautiful, disturbing, and instructive works of literary memoir by such writers as Mary McCarthy, Annie Dillard, and Judy Ruiz; smart, funny, and moving personal essays by authors ranging from E.B. White to Phillip Lopate to Ntozake Shange; and incisive, vivid, and quirky examples of literary journalism by Truman Capote, Barbara Ehrenreich, Sebastian Junger, and many others. This unique volume also contains examples of captivating nature writing, exciting literary travel writing, brilliant essays in science, surprising creative cultural criticism, and moving literary diaries and journals, incorporating several
classic selections to set a context for the contemporary work. The editor's general introduction and introductions to each of the five sections provide useful definitions, crucial history, critical context, and abundant issues to debate. Ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses in creative nonfiction, literary journalism, essay writing, and all levels of composition, Contemporary Creative The Art of Truth is also an essential resource for all nonfiction writers, from novices to professionals.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Essays, Academic

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2001

About the author

Bill Roorbach's newest novel is The Remedy For Love, coming October 2014 from Algonquin Books. Life Among Giants, also from Algonquin, is in development for a multi-year series at HBO, and won the 2014 Maine Literary Award in Fiction. Big Bend: Stories has just be re-released by Georgia in its Flannery O'Connor Award series. Temple Stream is soon to be re-released by Down East Books. Bill is also the author of the romantic memoir SUMMERS WITH JULIET, the novel THE SMALLEST COLOR, the essay collection INTO WOODS. The tenth anniversary edition of his craft book, WRITING LIFE STORIES, is used in writing programs around the world. His short fiction has been published in Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, and dozens of other magazines, journals, and websites, and has been featured on NPR's Selected Shorts, and won an O. Henry Prize. He lives in western Maine where he writes full time.

For more information about Bill Roorbach, see www.billroorbach.com, www.lifeamonggiantsthebook.com, and be sure to enjoy his blog and videos at www.billanddavescocktailhour.com. Follow him on Twitter: @​billroorbach.

Reviews

[Stephanie]

dnf/hiatus at 15% (page 84)

The secondhand copy I purchased has a terrible musty smell to it. 😷

I had hoped deodorizing it would succeed, but it still smells just as bad as when I got it. So, yeah, for now I'm dropping it off my "currently reading" shelf. I'll see about other tips and tricks on deodorizing musty smells from books, but for now it's a drop.

[Glen Retief]

The best creative nonfiction teaching anthology ever. It is just full of such beautiful work genres but never make it into most anthologies, like the writer's notebook

[Alexis McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for one of my English courses. I recommend to anyone interested in memoir or narrative essay writing.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to various types of literary nonfiction and includes a diverse array of topics and writers. I found many good gems in here that led me off to find more works by these writers.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection that includes a range of nonfiction subgenres -- from narrative NF toward lyric essay. The craft essays are especially helpful.

[Jessica Kluthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential read for any creative non-fiction writer! This text includes background about the genre and a strong, diverse anthology of CNF work.

[Devin Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to every mode of Creative non fiction. I've used this to teach my grad students the form and think it offers great variety.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read this book because it was required for my class, but the stories that we did read were excellent.