Spiritual Quests: The Art and Craft of Religious Writing (The Writer's Craft) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395486165 ISBN 13: 9780395486160

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 1988

Synopsis

Six writers discuss the novel-like structure of the Catholic mass, the history of religious writing, self-discovery, Biblical language, and the influence of Eastern religions

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

The third volume of the Writer's Craft series, based on talks given each winter at the New York Public Library, presents six American writers whose work has its basis in spiritual concerns. Mary Gordon, the highly praised novelist ( Final Payments ), speaks eloquently of the nurturance given to her youthful imagination by Catholic liturgy. Frederic Buechner ( Godric ) traces a correlation between faith and fiction: "both journey forward in time and space and draw their life from that journey." The other four writers are equally eloquent: Hugh Nissenson, who has written about Jewish and Protestant experiences; poet Allen Ginsberg, deeply influenced by Eastern religions; Jaroslav Pelikan, author of The Christian Tradition ; and David Bradley, who describes himself as "touched by the fire." Their widely different approaches all testify to the connection between faith and art. An informal bibliography of each writer's favorite books makes this a doubly instructive volume. Zinsser is the author of On Writing Well.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

Far from the "how to" manual its subtitle suggests, this collection of talks first delivered at a 1987 meeting of the Book of the Month Club features discussions by six authors on how their own experiences nurture creativity and spiritual growth. The diversity here is rich and the musings fascinating, whether it be Allen Ginsberg on Pound and Kerouac, Jaroslav Pelikan on the ways Augustine's Confessions became a tool for grace, or Mary Gordon's reflections on her own Catholic background. Artful, provocative, and sophisticated. EC
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0395486165
• ISBN 13: 9780395486160
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 189
• Editor: Zinsser William Knowlton, Gordon Mary