A Manner of Being: Writers on Their Mentors - Softcover

Liontas (Let Me Explain You) and Parker (English, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Where Bears Roam the Streets) bring together a series of stories and vignettes by writers for writers on the power of mentorship and the myriad ways in which literary and nonliterary guides support, influence, encourage, and serve to provide much-needed reality checks. The included pieces are at times warm, insightful, and amusing, while always staying true to the spirit of the unique relationship between mentor and mentee. Divided into eight sections, the stories fall into categories dedicated to literary "lineages," schoolhouse mentors, outliers, tough love, writers without mentors, and those in need of intervention; each contribution can be read as a stand-alone account, or taken as part of the greater whole. VERDICT These insider stories, recounting, the experiences of beginning writers, poets, and MFA students alike, will resonate with those following a similar path. -- (01/01/0001) What the writers share of their mentors, and what their mentors shared with them, makes for a fascinating work on writing and the student-teacher relationship. -- (01/01/0001) Funny, tender, illuminating, and with a vast reach (e.g., 'Pam Houston on Martha Washington, ' 'James Franco on School'), this collection is splendid in every way. -- (01/01/0001) A Manner of Being is revealing, often touching, frequently joyful, adding up to evidence of an idea that worked. -- (01/01/0001) The book does offer arresting memories and useful advice on navigating the writing life. -- (01/01/0001)

What do the punk singer Henry Rollins, the Guatemalan writer Rodrigo Rey Rosa, the American authors Tobias Wolff, Tayari Jones, and George Saunders, the Canadian writer Sheila Heti, and the Russian poet Polina Barskova have in common? At some point, they all studied the art of writing deeply with someone. The nearly seventy short essays in A Manner of Being, by some of the best contemporary writers from around the world, pay homage to mentors -- the writers, teachers, nannies, and sages -- who enlighten, push, encourage, and sometimes hurt, fail, and limit their proteges. There are mentors encountered in the schoolhouse and on farms, in NYC and in MFA programs; mentors who show up exactly when needed, offering comfort, a steadying hand, a commiseration, a dose of tough love. This collection is rich with anecdotes from the heartfelt to the salacious, gems of writing advice, and guidance for how to live the writing life in a world that all too often doesn't care whether you write or not. Each contribution is intimate and distinct -- yet a common theme is that mentors model a manner of being. Selections include:Arthur Flowers on John O'Killens James Franco on Harmony KorineMary Gaitskill on an Ann Arbor bookstore ownerNoy Holland and Sam Lipsyte on Gordon LishTayari Jones on Ron CarlsonHenry Rollins on Hubert Selby Jr.Rodrigo Rey Rosa on Paul BowlesGeorge Saunders on Douglas Unger and Tobias WolffChristine Schutt on Elizabeth HardwickTobias Wolff on John L'Heureux... and many more.