The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art

Joyce Carol Oates is a prodigious talent, both in volume and quality. One is in awe of the numerous titles from various genres - novel, poetry, play, essay and novella - for which she has published and received critical acclaim within the past forty years. Who is more qualified than Oates to assemble "The Faith of a Writer," a collection of essays written over a large span of years (many published earlier) that explore the craft of writing? Oates says the collection is "meant to be undogmatic, provisional." This is not a how-to write book, but rather, a personal take how Oates and other writers like Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and several other notables approach the craft of writing. The most interesting essay, "Notes on Failure," examines the helpful role failure can play when striving for memorable writing. Oates discusses James Joyce's difficulty in getting his first novel published before he wrote the classic "Ulysses." In response to the repeated rejections, "Joyce retreated, and allowed himself ten years to write a masterpiece." Oates also ponders topics such as inspiration, her early childhood influences, reading as a writer, and self-criticism. Her tone throughout each short essay is crisp and direct, often compelling and endearing, like a schoolteacher who always demands the best. Oates stresses that writing when done well, like any other artistic endeavor, is a craft. She believes, "inspiration and energy and even genius are rarely enough to make `art': for prose fiction is also a craft, and craft must be learned." Oates' slender volume is a beautiful rumination and worthy addition to her large catalog of work. She manages to pin down and examine the elusive nature of the muse. Bohdan Kot

This is a lovely piece, not meant to be a guide on how to write, which I think the negative reviewers are in need of, but rather it is a brief glimpse at her creative process. She is in love with the written word, and this book is no less eloquent than any of the novels or short stories she has written.

Since I have read so many of JC Oates' works over the years, it was with a little trepidation that I approached "The Faith of a Writer." Reading a lot of any writer's works gives you the feeling that you know the author as well as any member of your family or your circle of best friends. So, reading something directly from Oates about her inspirations, her craft and how she goes about actually producing her works was a bit scary for me. It's like meeting a favorite movie star in a one-on-one situation: what if she isn't as smart, as witty, as nice, as perceptive, as devilish as he appears on screen...or in Oates' case, on the written page.But like listening to a good friend relate stories of her life and how she goes about her craft, Oates enlightens rather than frightens: she adds additional insight to her works of fiction rather than tear down my perceptions of them.Oates on writers: (they have)..."an affinity for risk, danger, mystery, a certain derangement of the soul; a craving for distress, the predilection for insomnia." And as an extension Oates states these are the people who create "the highest form of the human spirit, Art."Going against the common notion that we should write what we know (and Oates's works certainly support this contention): "The artist can inhabit any individual for the individual is irrelevant to art."Like most great artists, Oates writes because she can't help it, it's in her blood and anyone who has read any of her works would have to agree that there are drops of blood as well as sweat on each page of her work.