The Art of the Personal Essay

This very thick book ranges from classical times (Seneca, Plutarch) to late 1980s/early 1990s (Richard Rodriguez), from Europe (de Montaigne, Turgenev) to Asia (Lu Hsun, Tanizaki) to Latin America (Fuentes) to the USA (a lot of the book) All are essays considered to be “personal” in nature, i.e., not so much about a given topic as about the author’s feelings, attitudes, history and understanding of the given topic. Definitely an interesting volume, but one best dipped into from time to time rather than ploughing through the whole thing at once, and different readers might be interested in some essays more than others. For example, I couldn’t get through the de Montaigne at all, although the editor describes his work as being show more *the* foundational work of modern essay writing, but I thoroughly enjoyed Rodriguez’s essay, in part because I lived in the place he describes during the time he wrote about it. The volume was published in 1994 and therefore omits any more modern authors; if there’s a later companion volume, it might be worth seeking out. show less

I love this volume if for only introducing me to the prose of Charles Lamb. An excellent bedside volume of wise and witty words to elevate your mind.

Excellent survey of essays from the Romans through modern times and across all cultures. Biased toward English and Americans, it is nonetheless a very entertaining book.

A MUST-read for anyone attempting to write or understand narrative nonfiction, creative nonfiction, memoir--bleah, the essay form. Edited and annotated by the God of the Personal Essay. This book includes the true classics of essay writing, and opens one's eyes to the possibilities within the art.

i've actually had the book for quite awhile and have read it several times....always finding something "i missed" it's a wonderful book and a great intro to fascinating folks like Lady Shonagon, or Montaine.

Maybe this book dragged on for too long.
A book to introduce you into the merit and worth of Essays and the worth of personal essays.

If I were stranded on a desert island, this anthology might preserve my sanity. Great!