John Casey has plenty to say about the “Art of Fiction.” In the essays included in Beyond the First Draft Casey writes about how he became a writer, what he found useful, what he found useless, and who helped him succeed. And, succeed Casey did. In 1989, John Casey won a National Book Award for Spartina, a story about a struggling fisherman in Rhode Island who’s trying to build a boat. I had Spartina on my shelf for 25 years so I finally read it. There’s plenty of nautical information in this book, nearly as much as in a Patrick O’Brian novel. The struggles of the fisherman are compelling. Much of what John Casey talks about in Beyond the First Draft can be found practiced in Spartina. If you’re interested in the writing process, both books are worth a look. GRADE: B+ (for both)
Table of Contents:
Preamble
Dogma and anti-dogma
If I were a flower, what kind of flower would I be?
Justice
What’s funny
Aristotle
Things
Sex and violence
Me me gab
Meanwhile back at the ranch
So alert a language
In other words
Neighborhoods
Childhood reading
Mentors in general, Peter Taylor in particular
I remember reading SPARTINA when it won the award. Lovely writing.
Patti, John Casey is a graceful writer. And he had some great teachers: Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Coover, and Peter Taylor.
I’m not interested in the nautical fiction but the book on writing does sound good. I have a lot of stuff waiting for me to read when we get home next week. At least the weather finally looks like the worst of this winter is over.
Jeff, you would enjoy BEYOND THE FIRST DRAFT. John Casey mentions several books that strongly influenced his writing.