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

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 253 ratings

A long-awaited and illuminating book on personal writing from Phillip Lopate—celebrated essayist, professor of writing at Columbia University, and editor of The Art of the Personal Essay.

Distinguished author Phillip Lopate, editor of the celebrated anthology
The Art of the Personal Essay, is universally acclaimed as “one of our best personal essayists” (Dallas Morning News).

Here, combining more than forty years of lessons from his storied career as a writer and professor, he brings us this highly anticipated nuts-and-bolts guide to writing literary nonfiction.

A phenomenal master class shaped by Lopate’s informative, accessible tone and immense gift for storytelling,
To Show and To Tell reads like a long walk with a favorite professor—refreshing, insightful, and encouraging in often unexpected ways.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Lopate, a consummate and piquant essayist and director of Columbia University’s graduate nonfiction program, draws on his extensive teaching experience in this expert, anecdotal, funny, and frank guide to writing “intelligent, satisfying, engaging literary nonfiction.” Even in a how-to book, Lopate can’t help but write lithe and sparring personal essays, so we learn, for example, that he honed his chops as a ghostwriter. His sophisticated advice touches on psychological challenges as much as craft, such as when he names “self-hatred” as a “stumbling block” for writers, and, admitting his own audacity when writing about family and friends, instructs memoirists to be prepared to “accept the guilt” when people get upset. He also suggests developing a “tone of assertion.” Lopate draws helpful comparisons with fiction, noting that nonfiction also requires conflict and the “art of characterization” but that its story line is a thought process. Never one to accept received wisdom, Lopate encourages writers to go beyond the safe, facile, and sentimental. To see him practice what he preaches, turn to his newest essay collection, Portraits inside My Head. --Donna Seaman

Review

“[To Show and To Tell] gives away all his trade secrets – a thoughtful guidebook for writers of literary nonfiction.” (New York Times Book Review)

“One of the best guides to writing nonfiction I've read.” (The Cleveland Plain Dealer)

“Sophisticated… Lopate, a consummate and piquant essayist,…draws on his extensive teaching experience in this expert, anecdotal, funny, and frank guide to writing “intelligent, satisfying, engaging literary nonfiction.” Even in a how-to book, Lopate can’t help but write lithe and sparring personal essays… Never one to accept received wisdom, Lopate encourages writers to go beyond the safe, facile, and sentimental.” (Booklist)

“One of the Earls of Essay returns with a collection that illustrates both his knowledge of the genre and his considerable skill in practicing it… A useful collection of bracing thoughts and sinuous sentences.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Praise for Phillip Lopate:

"Consistency charged with a feeling of discovery. A-" (Entertainment Weekly, for Getting Personal)

"Lopate is both legatee and guardian of the genre." (Publishers Weekly, for Getting Personal)

"Lopate's slightly ironic tone flavors an easygoing, good-humored, conversational style." (New York Times Book Review, for Getting Personal)

"A wonderfully observant, elegiac, and far-reaching historical meditation." (The New York Times, for Waterfront)

"The celebrated essayist takes a tour of the city’s ever-changing perimeter, sharing his knowledge of New York’s history, mythology, and plansfor the future. Poring over his informed, readable prose is like taking a stroll with a favorite professor: he is opinionated, casual, and erudite in equal measure." (Conde-Nast Traveler, for Waterfront)

"Part personal essay, part municipal history, part architectural guide, part criticism and part utopian musing...
Waterfront makes excellent reading for all those who feel the romance of the city’s past and.... for those with an interest in the growing healthiness of the city’s waterways and in architecture and urban planning." (The New York Times Book Review, for Waterfront)

"Where less keen observers see only ugliness, Lopate discerns the raffish beauty that once was, the bright possibilities that might be." (Newsday, for Waterfront)

"[Lopate] writes like cream pouring from a jug. . . . Richly entertaining." (Kirkus Reviews (starred), for Waterfront)

"A native New Yorker, avid walker, and impeccable stylist... Lopate seamlessly blends witty and candid accounts of his ramblings along the bedraggled edge of this great metropolis to create a fascinating narrative that encompasses historical, literary, cultural, aesthetic, and environmental perspectives." (Booklist (starred), for Waterfront)

"Without a doubt, this is the most nourishing essay collection I've read in years." (Susan Burmeister-Brown Portland Oregonian, for The Art of the Personal Essay)

"A labor of deeply felt love and keenly honed scholarship by an essay authority who knows his territory down to his bones." (Christian Science Monitor, for The Art of the Personal Essay)

"The best available [essay anthology] no matter how crowded the field." (Chicago Tribune, for The Art of the Personal Essay)

"Packed with personality and beguiling first-person prose... of reminders of the perils and pleasures of the craft." (The Wall Street Journal, for The Art of the Personal Essay)

“At last--a reliable guide to the signature genre of the age. Phillip Lopate's tour of literary nonfiction includes brilliant and helpful considerations of the essay and memoir, placing them and their vexing questions in clear cultural context. Impossible now to imagine a nonfiction course that does not include
To Show and To Tell in its syllabus. This is the rule book. But it's much more than a "craft book" for writers. It's a delight in itself, a fascinating exploration for readers, for anyone wondering why personally voiced nonfiction is so popular. The range is impressive, and the voice here is immediate, fresh, witty, winningly honest. An indispensible book.” (Patricia Hampl author of The Florist's Daughter)

“Shrewd, revealing, dexterous, skeptical, provocative, restless, wry, necessary.” (Laura Kipnis author of Against Love and How to Become a Scandal)

“The work of a master,
To Show and To Tell is beyond compare, for it embodies a poetics of literary nonfiction that takes into account all the crucial aspects, elements, and issues of the craft. Thus it's the essential text for anyone who seeks to enjoy, to understand, or to write nonfiction.” (Carl H. Klaus author of The Made-Up Self: Impersonation in the Personal Essay)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008J2AFP6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press (February 12, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 12, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2395 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 253 ratings

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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Customers find this book informative and useful for those interested in writing essays or memoirs. They find it an interesting and helpful read that provides good points. Many consider it a worthwhile investment and inexpensive.

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37 customers mention "Information quality"37 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and useful for writing classes. It provides good advice and examples on how to write an excellent essay. They say it's a great resource with good points and inspiring ideas.

"...Just the well crafted, thoughtful telling and showing of the events, places, senses,and supporting cast of characters that surround the I-character..." Read more

"Interesting, numerous examples and entertaining. Lopate makes some difficult concepts easy to understand...." Read more

"...What's important is, there's a lot of information for anyone who wants to learn about the history of the essay and desires to write one...." Read more

"This is a great resource for those looking at the essay, and the literary essay in particular, as one of the pieces they may pursue...." Read more

16 customers mention "Enjoyment"16 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find it informative and engaging, with useful tips, quips, and quotes. The author is described as humorous and likeable.

"...Throughout this very entertaining, clearly written, intelligent, thought-provoking and challenging volume, Dr. Lopate challenges us to commit to..." Read more

"Interesting, numerous examples and entertaining. Lopate makes some difficult concepts easy to understand...." Read more

"...unimpressed, although Phillip is an undeniably good writer, often enjoyable and humorous and basically likable, I can’t fault him for his blindspots...." Read more

"...this book along to a spa/writing retreat and found myself fully engaged in every chapter...." Read more

4 customers mention "Value for money"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a good value for money. It's inexpensive and in perfect condition.

"Some good points are made. Worth reading." Read more

"Inexpensive and in perfect condition!" Read more

"Worth the investment. Excellent Guide. Glad I have it in my library of intelligent ideas. Treat yourself to some real thinking." Read more

"...was a very interesting good book very informative and the cost was more than reasonable it did the job" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2013
    Philip Lopate has written an insightful volume about the importance of thoughtful reflection in recalling the events of our past in the writing of memoir. The goal is to bring our hard-won wisdom to the portrait of the I-character that we re-create from distant memory that is not only reflective, but that also rings true. The chapter on retrospective analysis and double perspective of the recalled I-character, with all her strengths, frailties, bravado, high spirits and/or foolishness, was a great help to me in my current work. Throughout this very entertaining, clearly written, intelligent, thought-provoking and challenging volume, Dr. Lopate challenges us to commit to reading more books, with a more discerning eye in our selection of the works of great writers, both from the past and those writing today. This kind of extensive and purposeful reading enables us to become more accomplished writers ourselves,learning from the great writers so that we may begin to increase in confidence and craftsmanship and begin to write at the very highest level at which we are capable. Write the truth with thoughtful reflection, rather than glib stylistic gimmickry, and you will write well, he advises. And his words strike a chord that rings true. No artifice. Just the well crafted, thoughtful telling and showing of the events, places, senses,and supporting cast of characters that surround the I-character in your story of a significant period of time in your life.. I highly recommend this book.
    Sheri Nelson Maclean, The Woodlands, Texas
    38 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2024
    My daughter needed this for her college class. It arrived as described in new condition. She is happy with it.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2013
    Interesting, numerous examples and entertaining. Lopate makes some difficult concepts easy to understand. i would recommend this book to other writers.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2014
    I got TO SHOW and TO TELL: THE CRAFT of LITERARY NONFICTION, per my Professor's suggestion on the syllabus for the class I was taking at the University of Miami, FL. Anyone who is acquainted with Lopate knows that he's considered some kind of "Modern Master" of the essay. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe that. What's important is, there's a lot of information for anyone who wants to learn about the history of the essay and desires to write one. Having written a variety of prose, most recently having completed a novel, I can tell you I am baffled by the essay.
    TO SHOW and TO TELL isn't a book to teach you how to write or steps on writing an essay. For that I suggest you go elsewhere and seek your lessons and support in another book. Lopate assumes you have a handle on knowing whether or not you can write and if you are a writer. He doesn't spend anytime boosting the readers ego, while they're reading and trying a become better essay writers.
    In TO SHOW and NOT TO TELL, Lopate gets into craft and the history of the essay. Once you start reading you'll see like anything working for, it takes study, practice and reading the masters. This is the first book you want to start reading if you want to write essays.
    13 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2022
    This is a great resource for those looking at the essay, and the literary essay in particular, as one of the pieces they may pursue. Jam packed with helpful stuff from someone who is clearly a master of the craft.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2023
    If the rest of the book is like the beginning, it's a perfect purchase. Happy with seller
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2017
    I didn’t like Phillip Lopate’s To Show and to Tell, and I will tell you why. Phillip seems to be very much stuck on this idea that he’s a “middle aged author”, which is his endearing term for the self imposed limitations of his perceptions and reflections. This book is some kind of a winding tale, where Phillip takes us through some of his strong opinions on various famous writers, coming to the defense of some of his favorite old white ones. I’m a young person, so maybe I am extra sensitive to this. But a large portion of this book feels like an unsolicited defense of some of the most famous essayists of all time. I felt like one of the elderly resident’s in my building stopped me without provocation to expound about how great the beetles were. Like dude, I get it man.
    I don’t know what or who he is responding to, maybe he’s picking up on some kind general Millennial fatigue that these old long dead writers evoke. Or maybe when he talks about them with his MFA students he doesn’t find they get the respect he believes they deserve. Hell, maybe he just feels an urgent end of the life need to expound about the value of reading Emerson. I did not buy this book with the expectation that Emerson was going to be suggested to me at length, nor Hoagland, or Charles Lamb, I bought it in the hopes of learning about non fiction writing. Maybe I am just beyond help and irreverent, I mean who am I to question the insights of a writing professor at Columbia.
    But speaking of insights? Where were they? I poured through this book quickly over a few days, so maybe it’s filled with subtle nuance that I missed. But with each chapter that I started, I was expecting the subject of the chapter to be addressed and taken seriously, and explored in depth, and that at some point I was going to encounter some kernel of wisdom that Phillip had gained after practicing the craft for so many decades. That is not what I found, because with chapters labeled “How do I end an essay” or “On the Necessity of Turning Oneself into a Character” or “The Lyric Essay”. I found that Phillip would dance around the subject at hand, spinning further and further away from a central point, something a reader could take away and apply, and as he spun further and further away from something useful, his attempt to use self awareness to justify the lack of insight into his field grew louder and louder.
    I was really unimpressed, although Phillip is an undeniably good writer, often enjoyable and humorous and basically likable, I can’t fault him for his blindspots. But after reading this book to completion, I felt tricked and a little angry. Like a fast one had been pulled on me by my writing teacher who required us to read this book for class, or better yet a fast one had been pulled on me by Phillip who at the beginning of this book didn’t warn me he considers himself to be the old guard who’s responsibility it is to make sure his young students and you the reader, understand that while James Baldwin is an exciting writer he’s flawed and imperfect. Once more, old dude, I totally get it. Phillip’s obsession with his age and cube like self perception of who he is, really prevented a lot of what this book offered from reaching me, me the young irreverent millennial who wants to learn how to write really good stuff. I’d hope Phillip would be a little more considerate in his teaching than this obvious plea to not let his favorite writers die in obscurity while marketing it as a nuts and bolts guide to writing nonfiction.
    So why did I rate this three stars if I think Phillip Lopate comes across as out of touch?Because I still got a lot out of this book, even though I didn’t find Phillip to be filled with either useful insight or inspiring direction. His tales of cheeky failure trying to connect with his students and his desire and attempts to demystify writing were in fact very helpful and made be a better writer. Although, I couldn’t pin point why, also because of the judgmental old man vibe I received, I didn’t really want to.
    There was some kind of rich human element to this book, and at several points Phillip suggests that if we are unsure of the subject we are writing about, that we should tie that real human confusion into our essays. He takes his own advice and displays it, again and again, which is another point of frustration for me. Good lord, do you see this? It should speak volumes about this book that now at the point in this review where I am trying to say something nice about it I simply can’t. Or maybe it says something about myself. And if it doesn’t, at least take this as an example of where self awareness does not justify lack of insight, which is really one of my biggest take aways from reading “To Show and To Tell”.
    This book is just so much more a journey and reflection on Phillip’s life as a writer and a defense of the classics than it is an interesting exploration or educational piece about The Craft of Literary Nonfiction, although I do believe that given Phillip’s life of writing those two things may be easily confused. I really did want to like it, I really wanted to be able to embrace it and respect it, and given that I am not a miserable person, if I spend my time on something I want that thing to be of value. But even with the benefit of the doubt, I simply can not, and that inability on my part goes so much farther beyond my resentment towards Phillip for painting himself as some kind literary authority figure. The book is just okay.
    20 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Valeria
    5.0 out of 5 stars A classic for memoir writers
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2024
    This is an excellent book. I suggest reading it after having read a primer, though (e.g. Judith Barrington's or Lee Gutkind's books), as it handles in depth aspects of memoir writing for which it's easier to first have a wider context.
  • Cliente Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Testo per studi universitari.
    Reviewed in Italy on April 29, 2023
    Ottimo libro per l'università.
  • Rajiv Chopra
    4.0 out of 5 stars Overall. Excellent
    Reviewed in India on August 17, 2021
    Overall, this is an excellent book, with some valuable tips. If you are looking for tips on writing, and how to develop your writing style, then it is the wrong book for you.

    If you want to get sage guidance on how to go about writing literary non-fiction, then this is a good place to start. Most authors like to write fiction, yet there is a small market for good, literary non-fiction. It is not easy to author good essays, so this book offers some good advice.

    I like that he has a separate section that he has devoted to a few men who were, and are, considered masters of their craft. This is useful. You can read many tips, but you should also read essays.
  • kbarcs
    5.0 out of 5 stars To Show and To Tell is the best writing book I own (and I own a lot
    Reviewed in Canada on August 20, 2015
    Phillip Lopate is my new writer crush. To Show and To Tell is the best writing book I own (and I own a lot!). He is funny, honest, self aware, intelligent and of course very well read. Most importantly, he pulls out the threads of how to write a good essay (and avoid a bad one) with great clarity.
  • Rutherbooks
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book in the Field
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2015
    An attention-grabbing conflation of technical advice and mastercraft acknowledgment. Lapote writes with enthusiasm and appreciation, and inspires me to both read and to write. Most importantly, he brings the non-fiction form - from today or from aeons away - back into clear view. Highly recommended.

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