Larry Woiwode is a writer of writers—a real American hero—and his prose leads us to delight in the written word in a fresh way. Through the mediums of literary analysis, cultural reflection, and personal memory, these ten essays trace Woiwode’s work and thought on such topics as the redemptive fiction of John Gardner, the ownership of guns, the faith of William Shakespeare, and even the difference in news as reported by CNN versus Bob Dylan.
Each essay here seems a kind of heirloom, important and timeless, a real window into the soul of American culture and its literary figures. These words give us a place in which to find rest, and a clarity and depth of understanding regarding today’s trends from a man well acquainted with the wounds and gifts of this world. Woiwode offers us a collection of insightful and provocative commentaries that are certain to produce a marked upwelling of joy as we revel in his mastery of language and stimulating observations of both literature and culture. An absorbing work to read and reread.
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