THE WRITING LIFE

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard (PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK and AN AMERICAN CHILDHOOD) whimsically explores the process of writing, delving fearlessly into the subconscious and offering practical wisdom. Tavia Gilbert delivers Dillard's poetic treatise, giving an exclamatory tone to the author’s observations as well as the quotes from other writers. Gilbert imparts Dillard’s examination of the creative process and the heights and depths of an author's daily struggle with words in a way that exalts. Dillard's wry prose is conveyed as a daisy chain of metaphors and quotes that reveal one writer's techniques for coping with anxiety and producing consistently. The work doesn’t present as a cohesive whole, but Gilbert's conversational style and honest fervor make the best of it. A.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2011]