A Solemn Pleasure
Subtitle
To Imagine, Witness, and Write
In an essay entitled “Spirit and Vision,” Melissa Pritchard poses the question: “Why write?” Her answer reverberates throughout "A Solemn Pleasure", presenting an undeniable case for both the power of language and the nurturing constancy of the writing life. Whether describing the deeply interior imaginative life required to write fiction, searching for the lost legacy of American literature as embodied by Walt Whitman, being embedded with a young female GI in Afghanistan, traveling with Ethiopian tribes, or revealing the heartrending story of her informally adopted son William, a former Sudanese child slave, this is nonfiction vividly engaged with the world. In these 15 essays, Pritchard shares her passion for writing and storytelling that educates, honors and inspires.
Bio
Melissa Pritchard is a professor emeritus of English (creative writing) at Arizona State University.
Praise for this book
Pritchard’s essay collection is one to keep by your bedside to read again and again. Like Lewis Hyde’s 'The Gift,' Pritchard plumbs the depths of why we write, in order to uncover the important reasons we need to write. … 'A Solemn Pleasure' is a treasure of a book. Keep it nearby, because in the darkest depths when you are confronted with the beautiful pain of the blank page, Pritchard will remind you how words can create light. … And know that this book will give you superpowers.
Atticus Review
