To Show and to Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction (An Essential Guide for Writers)

A long-awaited new book on personal writing from Phillip Lopate—celebrated essayist, the director of Columbia University’s nonfiction program, and editor of The Art of the Personal Essay.In his acclaimed classic anthology The Art of the Personal Essay, Phillip Lopate gave readers a premier collection of the finest essays in the genre. Now, in To Show and to Tell, he provides the nuts and bolts, offering a refreshing new master class on the craft of the personal narrative, including the personal essay and memoir.

In his flawless, appealing conversational prose, Lopate gives expert guidance on navigating the many issues facing writers today, including how to turn oneself into a character, how to write about friends and loved ones, and how to successfully end an essay, all the while elaborating on the evolving place of creative nonfiction in the literary world. The result is a brilliant magnum opus compiled from over forty years of teaching his craft to thousands of young writers, from elementary students to MFAs. An award-winning essayist and author himself, Lopate brings vividly into focus the true lifeblood of writing: exploration of one’s innermost thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, and the art of thinking, engagingly, on the page. With his guidance, writers in every field and at every stage of their careers are certain to learn a thing or two.