Twenty years ago Natalie Goldberg's classic, Writing Down the Bones, broke new ground in its approach to writing as a practice. Now, Old Friend from Far Away -- her first book since Writing Down the Bones to focus solely on writing -- reaffirms Goldberg's status as a foremost teacher of writing, and completely transforms the practice of writing memoir.
To write memoir, we must first know how to remember. Through timed, associative, and meditative exercises, Old Friend from Far Away guides you to the attentive state of thought in which you discover and open forgotten doors of memory. At once a beautifully written celebration of the memoir form, an innovative course full of practical teachings, and a deeply affecting meditation on consciousness, love, life, and death, Old Friend welcomes aspiring writers of all levels and encourages them to find their unique voice to tell their stories.
Goldberg's enormously popular workshops have given countless students the ability to heed the call to write. Old Friend from Far Away recreates her trademark workshop style with its terse, demanding writing "sprints" that train the hand and mind to quicken their pace and give up conscious control. These exercises divert the eye from the obvious and redirect it to the tactile details we miss, the embarrassments we pass over, and the complications we overlook in the blur of everyday living. Goldberg writes, "No one says it, but writing induces the state of love." Old Friend from Far Away guides us into that state of love, where heightened attention and a rhythm of focus allow the patterns and details of the past to emerge on the page.
Millions of Americans want to write about their lives. With Old Friend as the road map for getting started and following through, writers and readers will gain a deeper understanding of their own minds, learn to connect with their senses in order to find the detail and truth that give their written words power and authenticity, and unfold the natural structure of the stories they carry within. An absolute joy to read, it is a profound affirmation of the capacity of the written word to remember the past, free us from it, and forever transform theway we think about ourselves and our lives. Like Writing Down the Bones, it will become an old friend to which readers return again and again.
Autorentext
Natalie Goldberg is a poet, painter, teacher, and the author of over ten books, including her classic, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within and Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir. She has been teaching seminars for over thirty-five years to people from around the world and lives in New Mexico.
Inhalt
Read this Introduction
Note to Reader
SECTION I
Go
I Remember
Test I
No One Has Ever Died
...Die
Three
...Coffee
...Tell Me
...Dishes
Jean Rhys
The Four-Letter Word
...Ugly
...Home
Peach
James Baldwin
Again
...What's in Front of You
...Outside
...End
SECTION II
Test II
...Funny
...Storage
Third
Steve Almond
Nuts
Grade
No Mush
...Scratch
Sideways Step
SECTION III
Test III -- I Remember
Monkey Mind
Wild at Heart
Allen Ginsberg
...Plain
...Bolt
...Bicycle
Great Students
Moment
Zora Neal Hurston
Reading Aloud
Sitting
Hand
Hearing
Chin
Tongue
Just Sitting -- or Do the Neola
Practice Notebook
Walking
Linda Gregg
...Happy
...Ice Cream
Cook
...Potatoes
Verb
Hard and Soft
More Than Ten Minutes
Sprinting
...Religion
Jimmy Santiago Baca
...Pull
...Wild
SECTION IV
The Addict
Polite
...Repair
...Awake
...Nothing
Facing It
Boring
Ordinary
...Something
...Swim
...Poor
Lie
...Mistake
Weather
Fantasy
...Vice
...Hand and Wrist
...Jump
...Care
SECTION V
Test IV
Cezanne
...Apples
Joan Mitchell
...Vast Affection
...No
...Ahead
Sickness
Driving
...Window
Paris
...Quiet
...No Stop
Birthday
Say
...Ring
...Mind
...Time
Close
No Whining
Reading Life
...Long
...No More
Suicide
...Times
...Fish
...Give Up
Death
Sex -- or Money
Fat
...Obese
Smoke
Chang-Rae Lee
...Enamored
...At the Edge
Fight
...The Fourth
Four Words
...Perfect
...Lucky
Spit
...Dresser
SECTION VI
Test V
Blind
...Not Here
Politics
Not You
Half 'n Half
Place
...Some Place
...Two
No Topic
Title
Implied
SECTION VII
Test VI
Not Published
...Too Long
Portrait
Ad
Last Letter
One
Song
Hattie's
...Bar
...Different Times
Broken
...Everything
Ache
The Topic of Topics
More
...Cannot
Radish
Children
...Flat Cake
Orient Yourself
...Anchor
Inventory of Good-bye
...First Meetings
Morning Glory!
...Give Up
...Haunt
...Divorce
...Repeat
One Thing
Hot
Nothing
...Winter
No Fun
Trip
Defeat
Sound
...October Thirty First
SECTION VIII
Test VII
Good
Big State
...The Big Continent
...Poignancy
...What
Orchard
...Mother
Resistance
...Knew
...Air Waves
Cracked Sentence
...Down
SECTION IX
Test VIII
Series
Fulfilled
SECTION X
Test IX
Baby Memoir
Caryl Phillips
House
Recipe
Diet
Structure
Vast
...Over
Turning Around
...Not Take
Well
Guidelines and Suggestions for Writing Memoir
Some Great Memoirs to Read