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Writing down the bones : freeing the writer within / Natalie Goldberg.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Boston, Mass. ; London : Shambhala, 2005.Description: xiv, 200 pages ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1590302613 (pbk.) :
Subject(s):
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Non-Fiction Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction Non-Fiction 808.02 GOL 1 Available T00424838
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

For more than twenty years Natalie Goldberg has been challenging and cheering on writers with her books and workshops. In her groundbreaking first book, she brings together Zen meditation and writing in a new way. Writing practice, as she calls it, is no different from other forms of Zen practice --"it is backed by two thousand years of studying the mind."

This new edition, which marks almost twenty years since the original book's publication, includes a new preface in which Goldberg expresses her trademark enthusiasm for writing practice, as well as a depth of appreciation for the process that has come with time and experience. Also included is an interview with the author in which she reflects on the relationship between Zen sitting practice and writing, the importance of place, and the power of memory.

Davey Bequest.

Includes bibliographical references.

11 76 91

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Preface (p. xi)
  • Introduction (p. 1)
  • Beginner's Mind, Pen and Paper (p. 5)
  • First Thoughts (p. 8)
  • Writing as a Practice (p. 11)
  • Composting (p. 15)
  • Artistic Stability (p. 18)
  • A List of Topics for Writing Practice (p. 21)
  • Fighting Tofu (p. 25)
  • Trouble with the Editor (p. 28)
  • Elkton, Minnesota: Whatever's in Front of You (p. 29)
  • Tap the Water Table (p. 32)
  • We Are Not the Poem (p. 34)
  • Man Eats Car (p. 36)
  • Writing Is Not a McDonald's Hamburger (p. 39)
  • Obsessions (p. 42)
  • Original Detail (p. 45)
  • The Power of Detail (p. 47)
  • Baking a Cake (p. 50)
  • Living Twice (p. 53)
  • Writers Have Good Figures (p. 55)
  • Listening (p. 57)
  • Don't Marry the Fly (p. 60)
  • Don't Use Writing to Get Love (p. 62)
  • What Are Your Deep Dreams? (p. 65)
  • Syntax (p. 67)
  • Nervously Sipping Wine (p. 72)
  • Don't Tell, but Show (p. 75)
  • Be Specific (p. 77)
  • Big Concentration (p. 79)
  • The Ordinary and Extraordinary (p. 81)
  • Talk Is the Exercise Ground (p. 84)
  • Writing Is a Communal Act (p. 86)
  • One Plus One Equals a Mercedes-Benz (p. 89)
  • Be an Animal (p. 90)
  • Make Statements and Answer Questions (p. 93)
  • The Action of a Sentence (p. 95)
  • Writing in Restaurants (p. 98)
  • The Writing Studio (p. 103)
  • A Big Topic: Eroticism (p. 105)
  • A Tourist in Your Own Town (p. 108)
  • Write Anyplace (p. 110)
  • Go Further (p. 112)
  • Engendering Compassion (p. 114)
  • Doubt Is Torture (p. 117)
  • A Little Sweet (p. 119)
  • A New Moment (p. 120)
  • Why Do I Write? (p. 122)
  • Every Monday (p. 126)
  • More About Mondays (p. 128)
  • Spontaneous Writing Booths (p. 130)
  • A Sensation of Space (p. 133)
  • A Large Field to Wander In (p. 136)
  • The Goody Two-Shoes Nature (p. 140)
  • No Hindrances (p. 144)
  • A Meal You Love (p. 147)
  • Use Loneliness (p. 149)
  • Blue Lipstick and a Cigarette Hanging Out Your Mouth (p. 151)
  • Going Home (p. 152)
  • A Story Circle (p. 156)
  • Writing Marathons (p. 160)
  • Claim Your Writing (p. 164)
  • Trust Yourself (p. 167)
  • The Samurai (p. 169)
  • Rereading and Rewriting (p. 172)
  • I Don't Want to Die (p. 177)
  • Epilogue (p. 179)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

YA Goldberg will catch readers interested in writing with her opening confession that she was a ``goody-two-shoes all through school'' and should hold them until she pulls the last page from her typewriter, one ``Sunday night at eleven.'' Part writing guide, part Zen philosophy, and part personal diary, this book has the smooth, fast flow of a conversation with a good friend who, while struggling with her own writing, has picked up more than a few tips that she eagerly shares. Definitely not another ``how to write better themes'' or a rehash of the writing process, Goldberg's short, quirky chapters give the finer points of how to write in a restaurant and why bother to write at all. The earnest, slightly Bohemian, occasionally vulnerable voice will endear her to young writers who are looking not so much for a teacher or text as for validation that they can write and for some simple but intriguing tips to get them started. While there are the required chapters on using detail and keeping a journal, the most important thing Goldberg has to say to young people is that ``we have lived. Our moments are important. This is what it is to be a writer: to be the carrier of details that make up history. ''Carolyn Praytor Boyd, Episcopal High School, Bellaire, Tex. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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