First We Read, Then We Write: Emerson on the Creative Process

This book is as much about Ralph Waldo Emerson as it is about reading and writing. It reveals the books he read as well as the way he thought and wrote. Thinking was not part of the title but it was clear that it is every bit as important. Emerson was an intellectual in that he read, thought, and wrote. That is the intellectual's life and anyone aspiring to that life would find this a helpful book. "There is always a right word, and every other that is wrong." This book also discussed the writers who had influenced Emerson; writers like Goethe and Shakespeare.

No need to have read Emerson before reading this book, however, it will probably make you want to explore more and read him. Great advice for writers and enjoyment in the discoveries.

Wow, what a little depth-charge of a book! With Richardson as our guide, Emerson speaks encouragement and harsh wisdom to would-be writers. A thrilling read.

Robert Richardson is a brilliant biographer of William James, Henry Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson's biography is the best I have ever read. Richardson continues with a discussion of Emerson's essays on reading and writing, again brilliantly done. Thank you, Robert Richardson!

If you know a student or fledging author in need of a thoughtful gift, consider the purchase of this book on the essence of that most useful creative art, writing. (Or, buy it for yourself.) Professor Richardson brings a lifetime of acquired knowledge to this fine summary of Ralph Waldo Emerson's scattered expressions related to both reading and writing.