One Writer's Big Innings
Robert Clark Young has wanted to be a writer since he was in his teens. In this uproariously comic, prize-winning essay, Young satirizes the absurdity of literary ambition. Just how far will writers go for a shot at the big time?
Will they stalk Allen Ginsberg as he does his dry cleaning in Greenwich Village? Will they pretend to be interested in the mating habits of grizzly bears, just for the chance to hang out with Gary Snyder? Will they learn to translate Russian obscenities in order to get close to poet Joseph Brodsky? Will they use a crowded bookstore appearance by Gore Vidal as an opportunity to shoplift books? Will they join the staffs of literary magazines just for the pleasure of writing rejection slips to the likes of W.P. Kinsella and Joyce Carol Oates? Will they finagle breakfast with Raymond Carver--and then be accused of killing him? Will they lampoon Chuck Kinder's "wonder boys," a decade before Michael Chabon did it? Will they jet off to Egypt to beg Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz for publishing contacts, even though he speaks no English? Will they send manuscripts and pleading letters to Donald Barthelme for years and years and years, and be upset never to hear anything back, unaware that the man is dead? Will they actually stoop to stealing clothing out of the back of Larry McMurtry's convertible? Will they clandestinely obtain Thomas Pynchon's driving record, including weight, height, eye color, and address, from the Department of Motor Vehicles?
Yes. Of course. Writers will do all of this. And more.
First published in the Black Warrior Review, "One Writer's Big Innings" was reprinted in the AWP Chronicle (now The Writer's Chronicle), nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and then awarded the Black Warrior Review's Best of the '90s Award for Nonfiction.
The essay, clocking in at 7,000 words, launched Young's literary career. In the twenty years since its appearance, he's published with HarperCollins, Penguin Books, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Press, and many of the leading literary journals in the United States.
1109252045
Will they stalk Allen Ginsberg as he does his dry cleaning in Greenwich Village? Will they pretend to be interested in the mating habits of grizzly bears, just for the chance to hang out with Gary Snyder? Will they learn to translate Russian obscenities in order to get close to poet Joseph Brodsky? Will they use a crowded bookstore appearance by Gore Vidal as an opportunity to shoplift books? Will they join the staffs of literary magazines just for the pleasure of writing rejection slips to the likes of W.P. Kinsella and Joyce Carol Oates? Will they finagle breakfast with Raymond Carver--and then be accused of killing him? Will they lampoon Chuck Kinder's "wonder boys," a decade before Michael Chabon did it? Will they jet off to Egypt to beg Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz for publishing contacts, even though he speaks no English? Will they send manuscripts and pleading letters to Donald Barthelme for years and years and years, and be upset never to hear anything back, unaware that the man is dead? Will they actually stoop to stealing clothing out of the back of Larry McMurtry's convertible? Will they clandestinely obtain Thomas Pynchon's driving record, including weight, height, eye color, and address, from the Department of Motor Vehicles?
Yes. Of course. Writers will do all of this. And more.
First published in the Black Warrior Review, "One Writer's Big Innings" was reprinted in the AWP Chronicle (now The Writer's Chronicle), nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and then awarded the Black Warrior Review's Best of the '90s Award for Nonfiction.
The essay, clocking in at 7,000 words, launched Young's literary career. In the twenty years since its appearance, he's published with HarperCollins, Penguin Books, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Press, and many of the leading literary journals in the United States.
One Writer's Big Innings
Robert Clark Young has wanted to be a writer since he was in his teens. In this uproariously comic, prize-winning essay, Young satirizes the absurdity of literary ambition. Just how far will writers go for a shot at the big time?
Will they stalk Allen Ginsberg as he does his dry cleaning in Greenwich Village? Will they pretend to be interested in the mating habits of grizzly bears, just for the chance to hang out with Gary Snyder? Will they learn to translate Russian obscenities in order to get close to poet Joseph Brodsky? Will they use a crowded bookstore appearance by Gore Vidal as an opportunity to shoplift books? Will they join the staffs of literary magazines just for the pleasure of writing rejection slips to the likes of W.P. Kinsella and Joyce Carol Oates? Will they finagle breakfast with Raymond Carver--and then be accused of killing him? Will they lampoon Chuck Kinder's "wonder boys," a decade before Michael Chabon did it? Will they jet off to Egypt to beg Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz for publishing contacts, even though he speaks no English? Will they send manuscripts and pleading letters to Donald Barthelme for years and years and years, and be upset never to hear anything back, unaware that the man is dead? Will they actually stoop to stealing clothing out of the back of Larry McMurtry's convertible? Will they clandestinely obtain Thomas Pynchon's driving record, including weight, height, eye color, and address, from the Department of Motor Vehicles?
Yes. Of course. Writers will do all of this. And more.
First published in the Black Warrior Review, "One Writer's Big Innings" was reprinted in the AWP Chronicle (now The Writer's Chronicle), nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and then awarded the Black Warrior Review's Best of the '90s Award for Nonfiction.
The essay, clocking in at 7,000 words, launched Young's literary career. In the twenty years since its appearance, he's published with HarperCollins, Penguin Books, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Press, and many of the leading literary journals in the United States.
Will they stalk Allen Ginsberg as he does his dry cleaning in Greenwich Village? Will they pretend to be interested in the mating habits of grizzly bears, just for the chance to hang out with Gary Snyder? Will they learn to translate Russian obscenities in order to get close to poet Joseph Brodsky? Will they use a crowded bookstore appearance by Gore Vidal as an opportunity to shoplift books? Will they join the staffs of literary magazines just for the pleasure of writing rejection slips to the likes of W.P. Kinsella and Joyce Carol Oates? Will they finagle breakfast with Raymond Carver--and then be accused of killing him? Will they lampoon Chuck Kinder's "wonder boys," a decade before Michael Chabon did it? Will they jet off to Egypt to beg Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz for publishing contacts, even though he speaks no English? Will they send manuscripts and pleading letters to Donald Barthelme for years and years and years, and be upset never to hear anything back, unaware that the man is dead? Will they actually stoop to stealing clothing out of the back of Larry McMurtry's convertible? Will they clandestinely obtain Thomas Pynchon's driving record, including weight, height, eye color, and address, from the Department of Motor Vehicles?
Yes. Of course. Writers will do all of this. And more.
First published in the Black Warrior Review, "One Writer's Big Innings" was reprinted in the AWP Chronicle (now The Writer's Chronicle), nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and then awarded the Black Warrior Review's Best of the '90s Award for Nonfiction.
The essay, clocking in at 7,000 words, launched Young's literary career. In the twenty years since its appearance, he's published with HarperCollins, Penguin Books, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Press, and many of the leading literary journals in the United States.
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940013894686 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Robert Clark Young |
| Publication date: | 03/02/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 27 KB |
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