The Fourth Genre: Contemporary Writers Of/On Creative Nonfiction

this book is good i like the stories it has it talks about personal essays and other tipe as well and you can relate to the stories to.

I've been using this book in a career writing class where we have been focusing on learning how to write creative non-fiction. It is a great book full of incredible selections and is a great introduction to the field of Creative Nonfiction. Let me tell you, after years of writing academic essays, this has been a blast. The book, and my instructor, has helped me understand the difference between an autobiography and a memoir or a personal familiar essay and a personal critical essay. All of that being said, I found this book to be more of an introduction into the world of Creative Nonfiction than an instructional 'how to' book. I have enjoyed being introduced to such a large host of, for me, new writers and will definitely keep this text book for reference, enjoyment, and inspiration.

Finally the genre of Creative Non-Fiction is gaining recognition as a valid art form. Critics are finally starting to realize what the puplic has always known; real people have valid and intruiging stories to tell. The Fourth Genre collects an overview of the best non-fiction writers writing in and about their genre. I had the privilege to study under a contibutor from this book and discovered the joys of writing about my life and reading about the lives of others. This book is a necessity to those interested in Creative Non-Fictions. I would also recommend Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach, and Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell.