indypoet

Fresh?, Aug 23 2003

Not to start a war here, but Janet Burroway's book *is* fresh, and it's the best, most comprehensive multigenre text on the market. And it's affordable both for university students and writers who want to use it on their own. No, it's not full of inspirational gobbledygook and gimmicky suggestions to touch the heart of the writer. Instead, it's a very smart book that asks the writer to join in the long histories of the genres it discusses and offers the most succinctly articulated descriptions of techniques and approaches that will not only get a writer started writing but that will also help that writer understand what makes good writing good. The most innovative aspect of Burroway's… Read more

In Defense of Criticism, May 20 2001

Why should pointing out the very glaring editing errors, awkward syntax, and confusing organization in a book be seen by other readers as harsh and uncalled for? Like some other reviewers, I very much want to like "The Last Days of Haute Cuisine," but I find myself tripping over clumsy, wordy sentences far too often, causing me to re-read whole paragraphs and lose a sense of continuity as I read the book. Frankly, I was happy to have my frustrations in reading the book confirmed by other readers. (And I'm delighted that I can still do this via Amazon.com, which creates a community of writers that 5 years ago was simply not possible.) But that doesn't negate all of the moments… Read more