The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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On Dec 9, 2010, bukmrk507 said
It begins roughly. It ends magnificently. It is sweetly and simply “for BOB.” It is odd and personal, unexpectedly helpful and poetic, beautiful and spiritual; it is The Writing Life, and it is Annie Dillard. At the end of Chapter One, I felt muddled by the random examples Dillard chose to describe I’m-not-sure-what. Though she is clearly learned and spares much attention to details, such as when she describes the movement and progress of an inchworm, Dillard’s bizarre examples proved that she was an extremely strange woman; though some of her ideas are inspiring and I smiled often as I read them, Dillard’s reputation as a notable author was still questionable; and even though her sentences were composed well and written with an impressive use of imagery and word choice—“Your work is to keep cranking the flywheel that turns the gears that spin the belt in the engine of belief that keeps you and your desk in midair” (11)—I could not connect with Annie Dillard, as a woman, an author, or a writer. Then I read on. And Annie blossomed! In my mind she became a strong woman who connects with every person, place, and thing in her world, such as an air show pilot or a pine shed on Cape Cod or a piece of wood on a chopping block; an imaginative author who feels deeply and expresses herself clearly; and a superb writer who simultaneously loves the writing life, notices its humor and wonder, understands its difficulties, and grasps its reality. Dillard writes in Chapter Five:“Every book has an intrinsic impossibility…[The writer] writes it in spite of that. He finds ways to minimize the difficulty; he strengthens other virtues; he cantilevers the whole narrative out into thin air, and it holds. And if it can be done, then he can do it, and only he. For there is nothing in the material for this book that suggests to anyone but him alone its possibilities for meaning and feeling” (72).This passage illustrates Dillard’s genius; she expresses the truth of writing simply, yet writes it stunningly. A writer writes because she alone comprehends her thoughts, and in her personal process of writing, writing’s own impossibilities are overcome. The challenge and fulfillment of Dillard’s view are her reasons for writing. Annie Dillard searches for the tiniest and least significant details in her life, which she then, with genuine respect, describes brilliantly. Dillard, in The Writing Life, hands pearls to her readers: her candid opinions and applicable advice; her ideas which, though not openly stated as spiritual, are unmistakably from a higher stream of thought; and her absolutely gorgeous sentences which can only be described as amazing.“The page, the page, that eternal blankness, the blankness of eternity which you cover slowly, affirming time’s scrawl as a right and your daring as a necessity;…the page, which you cover slowly with the crabbed thread of your gut; the page in the purity of its possibilities; the page of your death, against which you pit such flawed excellences as you can muster with all your life’s strength: that page will teach you to write” (59).One does not have to be a writer to see the flawless and glorious beauty of this sentence. Annie Dillard comprehends the art of writing, and she gracefully masters its aspects, both challenging and rewarding. The Writing Life is a testament of Dillard’s power as a writer as witnessed in my and every reader’s reaction to her observations and dreams.
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
- Condition
- Used - F-
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- 1990
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- 9780060919887
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Castlemaine, Victoria, AUS
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New York: Harper Perennial, 1990 8vo. original printed paper wraps (a trifle rubbed, prev. owner's name to FFE, slight leaf edge toning and sunning); pp. [viii (last blank)], 112 (last blank). A near fine copy.. Reprint. Soft Cover. F-. Item Price
€9.27
The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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- Used - Very Good in Very Good dust jacket
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- First Printing
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- 1989
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Cooperstown, New York, USA
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New York, NY: Harper & Brothers. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 1989. First Printing. Hardcover. 0060161566 . Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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- 1989
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NY: Harpercollins, 1989. Hard cover in dust jacket. Published NY: Harpercollins, 1989, second printing. 8vo. Near fine in near fine, price clipped dust jacket.. Hard. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8vo.. Item Price
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The Writing Life (UCP)
by Dillard, Annie
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- 1989
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New York: Harper & Row, 1989. Pale blue printed wraps. Faint spots of foxing on covers and tiny spots of foxing on page edges (not penetrating onto pages themselves). Author describes the working life of a writer. 109 pages.. First Edition. Thin Trade Paperback. Near Fine.. Uncorrected Proof. Item Price
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The Writing Life.
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New York: Harper & Row, 1989. First edition Uncorrected proof in wraps. Near fine with light fading of spine.. Item Price
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THE WRITING LIFE
by Dillard, Annie
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New York: Harper Perennial, 1990. Book. Illus. by Albert Pinkham Ryder;. Very Good. Soft cover. First Printing - First Thus. 8vo. 111 pp. Trade paperback format. Lightly rubbed on the corners with a flat uncreased spine; no interior markings. The cover features The Toilers of the Sea by Albert Pinkham Ryder, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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London (Birr), Ontario, CAN
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New York & London: Harper Perennial, 2013. Book. As New. Soft cover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Softcover. Clean, tight, and unmarked -- as new.. Item Price
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The Writing Life
by DILLARD, Annie
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New York: Harper, 1989. First. hardcover. near fine/fine. 111pp. 8vo, cloth, d.w. N.Y.: Harper & Row, (1989). First Edition.<br/> <br/> The fore-edges of two blank pages are chipped. The book, otherwise fine is inscribed and signed by Dillard.<br/> <br/> Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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New York, NY: Harpercollins. Very Good- in Very Good- dust jacket. 1989. 1st Edition (Unstated); First Printing. Hardcover. 0060161566 . Yellowing to pages. Very light dirt scuffs to edge of pages. Very Good overall condition otherwise. No other noteworthy defects. No markings. ; 6.11 X 1.11 X 11.11 inches; 111 pages . Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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New York, Grand Rapids, ET AL: Harper & Row, Publishers. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 1989. Second Printing. Cloth. 0060161566 . A Second Printing in Fine condition in a like dust-jacket ; This book is about a woman's life journey as a writer. The author shares her experiences, insights, and advice on the writing life. She provides a… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1989. Book. Very Good+. Hardcover. American First. Complete number line from 1 to 10; minimal wear; otherwise a solid, clean copy with no marking or underlining; collectible condition. Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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New York: Harper & Row, 1989 F-/F-. 8vo. original brown cloth gilt (a trifle rubbed & sunned, occ. marks, inscrip. to FFE) in dustwrapper (price-clipped, a little sunning & marking); pp. [x (last blank)], 112 (last blank). A near fine copy.. First Edition. Hard Cover. F-/F-. Item Price
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by Dillard, Annie
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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New York, New York, U.S.A.: HarperCollins, 1989. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. red star stamp to bottom of page block. Dust jacket protected by a removable Brodart cover.. Item Price
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by Dillard, Annie
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The Writing Life
by Annie Dillard
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- August 1989
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Caldwell, Idaho, USA
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HarperCollins, August 1989. Hardcover. Used - Good. The Rubaiyat LLC is a small, used bookstore in Caldwell, Idaho. All books are fair to good or better, no library copies unless specifically listed. Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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Harper Perennial, 2013-11-12. Paperback. Very Good. USED VERY GOOD CONDITION MAY HAVE SLIGHT CORNER WEAR - MAY HAVE MINIMAL WRITING - EXPERIENCE AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE - WE SHIP DAILY Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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Reno, Nevada, USA
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HarperCollins Publishers. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Item Price
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The Writing Life
by Dillard, Annie
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- 1989
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- 9780060161569
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Seattle, Washington, USA
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HarperCollins Publishers, 1989. Hardcover. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed. Item Price
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THE WRITING LIFE
by DILLARD, ANNIE
- Condition
- Used - NEAR FINE+
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- 1ST EDITION
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- 1989
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Harlingen, Texas, USA
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USA: HARPER & ROW, 1989. 1ST EDITION. HARDCOVER. NEAR FINE+/NEAR FINE+. USA: HARPER & ROW, 1989. 1ST EDITION. NEAR FINE+/NEAR FINE+. USA: HARPER & ROW, 1989. 1ST EDITION. NEAR FINE+/NEAR FINE+. USA: HARPER & ROW, 1989. 1ST EDITION. NEAR FINE+/NEAR FINE+. Harper & Row, New York, 1989. Hardcover. Book… Read more about this item Item Price
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