Thus I Lived with Words

Robert Louis Stevenson and the Writer's Craft

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Writing & Publishing, Composition & Creative Writing, Biography & Memoir, Literary
Cover of the book Thus I Lived with Words by Annette R. Federico, University of Iowa Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Annette R. Federico ISBN: 9781609385194
Publisher: University of Iowa Press Publication: November 15, 2017
Imprint: University Of Iowa Press Language: English
Author: Annette R. Federico
ISBN: 9781609385194
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
Publication: November 15, 2017
Imprint: University Of Iowa Press
Language: English

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) loved more than anything to talk about the craft of writing and the pleasure of reading good books. His dedication to the creative impulse manifests itself in the extraordinary amount of work he produced in virtually every literary genre—fiction, poetry, travel writing, and essays—in a short and peripatetic life. His letters, especially, confess his elation at the richness of words and the companionship of books, often projected against ill health and the shadow of his own mortality.

Stevenson belonged to a newly commercial literary world, an era of mass readership, marketing, and celebrity. He had plenty of practical advice for writers who wanted to enter the profession: study the best authors, aim for simplicity, strike a keynote, work on your style. He also held that a writer should adhere to the truth and utter only what seems sincere to his or her heart and experience of the world. Writers have messages to deliver, whether the work is a tale of Highland adventure, a collection of children’s verse, or an essay on umbrellas. Stevenson believed that an author could do no better than to find the appetite for joy, the secret place of delight that is the hidden nucleus of most people’s lives. His remarks on how to write, on style and method, and on pleasure and moral purpose contain everything in literature and life that he cared most about—adventuring, persisting, finding out who you are, and learning to embrace “the romance of destiny.” 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) loved more than anything to talk about the craft of writing and the pleasure of reading good books. His dedication to the creative impulse manifests itself in the extraordinary amount of work he produced in virtually every literary genre—fiction, poetry, travel writing, and essays—in a short and peripatetic life. His letters, especially, confess his elation at the richness of words and the companionship of books, often projected against ill health and the shadow of his own mortality.

Stevenson belonged to a newly commercial literary world, an era of mass readership, marketing, and celebrity. He had plenty of practical advice for writers who wanted to enter the profession: study the best authors, aim for simplicity, strike a keynote, work on your style. He also held that a writer should adhere to the truth and utter only what seems sincere to his or her heart and experience of the world. Writers have messages to deliver, whether the work is a tale of Highland adventure, a collection of children’s verse, or an essay on umbrellas. Stevenson believed that an author could do no better than to find the appetite for joy, the secret place of delight that is the hidden nucleus of most people’s lives. His remarks on how to write, on style and method, and on pleasure and moral purpose contain everything in literature and life that he cared most about—adventuring, persisting, finding out who you are, and learning to embrace “the romance of destiny.” 

More books from University of Iowa Press

Cover of the book A Brighter Word Than Bright by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Song of Myself by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Making Local Food Work by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book The Jefferson Highway by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Between Urban and Wild by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book First We Read, Then We Write by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Fire Road by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Race Sounds by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Gathering Noise from My Life by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Odd Bloom Seen from Space by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Playful Song Called Beautiful by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book The Meanings of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Teaching Tainted Lit by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Campaign Inc. by Annette R. Federico
Cover of the book Poetics and Praxis 'After' Objectivism by Annette R. Federico
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy