The Fourth Genre: Contemporary Writers of/on Creative Nonfiction

by Robert L. Root Jr., Michael J. Steinberg

This best-selling anthology is a comprehensive and indispensable introduction to the way creative nonfiction is written today.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Memoir, Essays, Textbooks, Contemporary, Anthologies

544 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 1998

Reviews

[gly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent compilation of essays teaching ways to craft creative nonfiction essays.

If you’re writing a memoir, I recommend reading Steinberg’s text. It helps me write an ‘inner story’ that appeals to the emotions of the readers.

[Sheri Fresonke Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to learn by good example. This collection of essays and memoir and how to articles offers many examples of the creative nonfiction article. Articles range from simple memories, to explanations of what happened when they started teaching to touching tales of human connection. The collection is easy to read, you can safely set it down and pick it up whenever you have time to read more. It also has several indexes so that you can find pieces according to different criteria. It's a well put together collection.

[Kateri Kramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a somewhat difficult month of writing, this book came along at exactly the right time. I was feeling exceptionally stuck and became worried that I had tapped out everything I had to write about. “The Fourth Genre” edited by Root and Steinberg is split up into two different sections. The first is an anthology of exceptional pieces of creative non-fiction. I have always drawn inspiration from other artists and their creations so having many different styles and forms all in one place was extremely helpful. It was nice to read one piece that might be considered “standard” in terms of form and then flip to the next page to an essay that is written in the form of a list of albums. It gave me a lot to think about in terms of what I’ve already done with my own work and where I can go. It forced me to think about form in a way that I hadn’t before. I now have a little better understanding that sometimes a specific form won’t work for what I want to say and I need to step out of my comfort zone to experiment with different ways to write.


I have so many new ideas of ways that I can write essays, whether it is in list form, or it’s a photo essay, or a compilation of diary entries. Before this I thought I had to have my subject matter before I made a decision about the form but now I’m realizing that it’s more cyclical than that. It can also occur; form, subject matter, make sure the form actually works (or alter it so that it does). Sometimes form can be the catalyst for subject matter and that was an exciting realization to have.


The second part of the text are more traditional craft essays, however most are creative in their own right. Many of them exemplify the options when writing creative non-fiction while simultaneously teaching the reader lessons in craft. These helped me out in an entirely different way. I was given very concrete things to do in my own writing. Allow yourself to be ok with the incongruities of memory. Stories depend upon their shape and it’s the writer’s job to determine which bits need to be emphasized or discarded in order to make that particular shape. “Find the place where the story could draw a deep breath and take its own measure.” (262) Let everything, anything happen in a first draft; don’t hold back. All of these reminders (or new lessons) were extremely timely and allowed me to push forward past that bit of writer’s block or frustration and allow more to happen with my writing. I wish I would have read this text in the first month of my residency, but then again, maybe I’d still feel like I had writer’s block if I had.

[David Gross · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to be a crank, but I'm not a fan of this textbook. I use this in my creative writing nonfiction class because it is the book that my university uses in all sections, and I find that while the essays are generally pretty good examples of their various forms, the portions of the book that deal with processes and criticism of creative nonfiction are pitiful. It is not possible to have students read this book and walk away with any conception of the difference between essay, memoir, personal reportage, personal cultural criticism, etc. Now, as teacher, it's my job to teach that, and I don't mind doing so, but in general when you select at textbook, you're going to do so for the way in which it assists in that job, and I don't feel that this text offers much assistance at all.

[Rasma Haidri · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the essays themselves are not consistently brilliant in my estimation, there are some creative non-fiction pieces here that are gems of their genre.

This is required reading in an MFA course I am taking in creative non-fiction, so technically a textbook. It serves its purpose well.

I met the editor Michael Steinberg back in 1998 when he was just starting his journal Fourth Genre, which led to the series of anthologies of which this is the latest. It was a crucial meeting for me at a time when I wrote poetry exclusively. Michael Steinberg taught me to let the material select its genre, and to see that a failed poem might just want to be an essay.

Creative non-fiction is sometimes more poetry than narrative, sometimes more journalism than story. Sometimes hardly distinguishable from fiction, except in the eyes of the writer who has to bring integrity to how honestly he can write about real people and events, and how truthfully he will admit that he can never know what really happened, only what really happened to himself. The best pieces in this collection demonstrate that integrity and honesty, and the vulnerability of an author in pursuit of understanding something crucial about himself. It may sound insular and private, but it is the genre where the old adage "specificity renders universality" is best demonstrated.

[Cory Fosco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first anthology of creative nonfiction I read. I bought the book as a requirement for an undergraduate level class, but used it in my graduate program and continue to use it as I teach at the community college level. The introductory essays about the craft are great. The essays included in this collection are all so very different (nature essays, segmented essays, literary journalism, memoir, personal essay) and are a great teaching/learning aide. Some of the essays also have additional comments by the authors, detailing their motivation behind the story.

[Kate Savage · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was such a bizarre grab-bag of essays. Some were spectacular and then I'd be in a long soporific tale of playing pool or hiking in Vermont. In the essays about the genre, you'd get Annie Dillard up next to what could have been an undergrad essay. I was very bored by the dry explanatory bits written by Root himself.

Read the compelation, because it's a great genre, and you will discover some marvellous writers. Just be prepared to skim past the unbearable bits.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this Text book cover to cover. I enjoyed every single essay. There were examples of every kind of Contemporary Creatative Nonfiction. I really appreciated the Alternatative Contents listings by the various subgenres. Memoir which is a new passion for me. I won't let this book out of my office!!

[Cindie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the textbook I used in my first semester of grad school, which happened to be taught by Robert Root, the editor. I liked this text. It had many different styles of essays, but most interesting and helpful were the craft essays at the back written by authors of some of the essays that were included in the book.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm currently reading this book and it's a great book if you are looking for examples of what personal essays, memoirs, and creative nonfiction really are. The stories are well written and entertaining. A good compliation.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still think the first edition of this book is the best. I've hung onto my copy, which has traveled with me from Boston to southern Mexico to Seattle, even as I've read each new edition and marveled at the rising price.

[Sheri Fresonke Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved my copy of the Fourth Genre, it shares many examples of Creative Nonfiction that the student of the form can analyze and use to help develop their own skills. Form, grammar, reflection, nuance, voice, and style all come out in writing unique to the authors.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of excellent examples of creative nonfiction, with essays on craft aspects of the work.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in high school, it contains many short stories and many of them were really interesting.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a writer of non-fiction you should definitely own this book. If you like reading non-fiction of any kind you'll thoroughly enjoy it.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not completely read this oops

[Nanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great essays here. Very interesting and thought provoking. No slackers here.