E-raamat: I'll Tell You Mine: Thirty Years of Essays from the Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program

Over the past three decades, nonfiction writing in its many forms—memoir, travel writing, essays, narrative nonfiction—has attained increasing popularity among the reading public and growing recognition within the literary canon. In this genre as in fiction and poetry, the University of Iowa has led the way in offering developing writers a setting where they can immerse themselves in their craft for a couple of years with a community of likeminded peers. This collection of 18 pieces—all of them by graduates of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program, and all begun (though often not finished) while their authors were in the program—illustrates the range and evolution of nonfiction forms during this period. Each piece is accompanied by commentary from the author on an issue of writing process or craft that proved to be a challenge in drafting or revising the piece. Their work is put into broader context by a prologue from Robert Atwan, editor of theBest American Essays series, who details the rise of nonfiction as a literary genre since the New Journalism of the 1960s.

The University of Iowa is a leading light in the writing world. In addition to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop for poets and fiction writers, it houses the prestigious Nonfiction Writing Program (NWP), which was the first full-time masters-granting program in this genre in the United States. Over the past three decades the NWP has produced some of the most influential nonfiction writers in the country.
I’ll Tell You Mine is an extraordinary anthology, a book rooted in Iowa’s successful program that goes beyond mere celebration to present some of the best nonfiction writing of the past thirty years. Eighteen pieces produced by Iowa graduates exemplify the development of both the program and the field of nonfiction writing. Each is accompanied by commentary from the author on a challenging issue presented by the story and the writing process, including drafting, workshopping, revising, and listening to (or sometimes ignoring) advice. The essays are put into broader context by a prologue from Robert Atwan, founding editor of theBest American Essays series, who details the rise of nonfiction as a literary genre since the New Journalism of the 1960s.
Creative nonfiction is the fastest-growing writing concentration in the country, with more than one hundred and fifty programs in the United States.I’ll Tell You Mine shows why Iowa’s leads the way. Its insider’s view of the Iowa program experience and its wealth of groundbreaking nonfiction writing will entertain readers and inspire writers of all kinds.