Overview

In his three previous memoirs, Floyd Skloot grappled with the brain-ravaging virus that struck him at forty-one. He was, as the San Francisco Chronicle noted, “shaping the experience of crippling illness into dazzling literature.” Sifting through memories and observations to discover how circumstance and nature conspired to make him the writer he is, Skloot enacts in this book the very process he describes, the shaping of a writer’s life. Among the influences of family and close friendship, experience and popular culture, he uncovers a unique and telling perspective on the forging of a writer’s individual sensibility. At the same time, his book explores fundamental questions about how life shapes the creative spirit—and how, in turn, the writer makes sense of it all and gives life a new and meaningful shape in the form of literature.

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9780803238459

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Reviews

Skloot unravels the tangled thread of his own life story with a sense of urgency often missing from linear memoir; and in so doing, he shows us that while truth and fact may be intimately connected, meaning itself is in the telling. Courtney Arnold, ForeWord Magazine Remarkable portrait of a remarkable artist. oAskold Melnyczuk,Boston Globe Skloot is such a fine writer that he canoand doesowrite about eating 'baloney and eggs' and makes it seem fascinating. Writers at any stage of their careers will treasure this volume of clean, expressive prose that delights without ever showing off. oPublishers Weekly, starred review Wise, thoughtful. oBooklist Skloot crafts sentence-length gems on almost every page. What a talent he possesses... It is difficult to imagine any worthy writer remaining unaffected upon reaching the final page. oSteve Weinberg, The Writer Even better than the tales is the pitch in which Skloot sings them. His sensibility is stoic and gentle. The style is clear, supple, expressive. Mordechai Levy-Eichel, New Haven Review

""Skloot unravels the tangled thread of his own life story with a sense of urgency often missing from linear memoir; and in so doing, he shows us that while truth and fact may be intimately connected, meaning itself is in the telling."" Courtney Arnold, ForeWord Magazine ""Remarkable portrait of a remarkable artist.""--Askold Melnyczuk,Boston Globe ""Skloot is such a fine writer that he can--and does--write about eating 'baloney and eggs' and makes it seem fascinating. Writers at any stage of their careers will treasure this volume of clean, expressive prose that delights without ever showing off.""--Publishers Weekly, starred review ""Wise, thoughtful.""--Booklist ""Skloot crafts sentence-length gems on almost every page. What a talent he possesses... It is difficult to imagine any worthy writer remaining unaffected upon reaching the final page.""--Steve Weinberg, The Writer ""Even better than the tales is the pitch in which Skloot sings them. His sensibility is stoic and gentle. The style is clear, supple, expressive."" Mordechai Levy-Eichel, New Haven Review

Even better than the tales is the pitch in which Skloot sings them. His sensibility is stoic and gentle. The style is clear, supple, expressive, and, one can't help but get the feeling, wise as well. --Mordechai Levy-Eichel, New Haven Review come his way. --Mordechai Levy-Eichel, New Haven Review --Mordechai Levy-Eichel New Haven Review (02/01/2009)

Author Information

Floyd Skloot is the author of five books of fiction, seven collections of poetry, a collection of essays, and three previous memoirs including In the Shadow of Memory and A World of Light, both available in Bison Books editions. He is the winner of three Pushcart Prizes, the most recent for his essay “The Voice of the Past,” which appears in The Wink of the Zenith.

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