After hearing a ton about him, I found a copy of McPhee’s “Room Full of Hovings” in a used book store. As someone born this millennia, I agree that I haven’t quite read anything like it. The way he approaches his subjects and is willing to cover them in such a complete, long-form way is something completely absent from non fiction today
I've been saving this to read, have just done so, and now want to say (perhaps in response to the one-word commenter, below): fascinating. Thinking about shadings and ghosts of the self as writer and having the wisdom to let it shape your future work is fascinating to me. Thanks.
"Writing is selection. . . . Write on subjects in which you have enough interest on your own to see you through all the stops, starts, hesitations and other impediments along the way."
-- John McPhee, The New Yorker, Sept. 7, 2015 ("The Writing Life | Omission")
After hearing a ton about him, I found a copy of McPhee’s “Room Full of Hovings” in a used book store. As someone born this millennia, I agree that I haven’t quite read anything like it. The way he approaches his subjects and is willing to cover them in such a complete, long-form way is something completely absent from non fiction today
I've been saving this to read, have just done so, and now want to say (perhaps in response to the one-word commenter, below): fascinating. Thinking about shadings and ghosts of the self as writer and having the wisdom to let it shape your future work is fascinating to me. Thanks.
"Writing is selection. . . . Write on subjects in which you have enough interest on your own to see you through all the stops, starts, hesitations and other impediments along the way."
-- John McPhee, The New Yorker, Sept. 7, 2015 ("The Writing Life | Omission")