Abbey, Edward. 1968. Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness. Ballantine Books. 0-345-32649-0.
He writes well, describing his brief career working for the National Park Service, at the
Arches National Monument in Utah, and describing the changes coming to the National Park system
as tourists began to be encouraged to visit. Fascinating environmental writings.
Adler, Margot. 1997. Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and
Revolution. Beacon Press. 0-8070-7099-8.
Margot Adler became aware of a social context for her life during the heady period of the sixties,
and participated in the Free Speech movement, civil rights activities in the South, and in
other concerns. This book is her memoir of this period of her life, the doubts and the
enthusiasms. There is a true reflectiveness here, and a learning via a looking-back.
Brunner, R. Scott, 1999. Due South: Dispatches from Down Home. Villard Books, NY 0-375-50255-6.
Mini-essays and snapshots of life growing up in the South. A thought-full personality shines forth.
Bryson, Bill, 1998. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the
Appalachian Trail. Broadway Books, NY 0-7679-0252-1.
Bryson and an out-of-shape friend determine to tackle the Appalachian Trail, with good writing and
humor. Along the way, Bryson includes environmental and conservationist info.
Cain, Chelsea, ed, 1999. Wild Child: Girlhoods in the Counterculture.
Seal Press, Seattle WA 1-58005-031-X.
Women raised in that old "sixties" hippie way of life talk about what this meant to them,
and how they related to society around them. An unromanticized look at the mistakes and the things
their parents seemed to get correct.
Clifton, Chas A., ed., 1993. Witchcraft Today - Book Two: Modern Rites
of Passage. Llewellyn Books, St. Paul, Minn. 0-87542-378-7.
A collection of thoughtful
essays on life stages: including excellent ones on working with the
underage seeker, Pagan approaches to grief, illness and loss, the older
Witch, and more. Personal thoughts and experiences bring many of the chapters to life.
Clifton, Chas A., ed., 1996. Living Between Two Worlds: Challenges of the
Modern Witch. Llewellyn Books, St. Paul, Minn. -56718-151-1.
Effectively the fourth in the Witchcraft Today series.
Pros and cons on coming out of the broom closet, everyday life, practical issues of
confidentiality, the dichotomy of "us vs. them", and more.
Conway, Jill Ker, ed. 1999. In Her Own Words: Women's Memoirs from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the
United States. Vintage Books, New York. ISBN 0-679-78153-6.
Excerpts from writings and autobiographies of Rosemary Brown, Kim Chernin, Shirley Chisholm, Janet Frame,
Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Hewitt, Sally Morgan, Gabrielle Roy, and three others. Sometimes the mechanism of the
excerpting is jarring to this reader.
Cope, Julian. 1999. Head-On / Repossessed. Thorsons. ISBN 0-7225-3882-0.
A double-memoir. Head-On is about the musician's years first getting into the rock scene, and then with The Teardrop
Explodes (1976-82), and Repossessed concerns some troubled years between 1983 and 89. He likes
to talk a lot. I was hoping for something like his more recent CD liner notes, but while
well-written, it isn't exactly that.
Daly, Meg, ed. 1996. Surface Tension: Love, Sex and Politics Between Lesbians and Straight Women. Touchstone Books, NY. 9-780684-802213.
Delany, Samuel R., 1988. The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East
Village, 1957-1965. New American Library. 9-780452-262324.
A gay man comes to terms with his sexuality and creativity in an era of silence.
Delany, Samuel R., 1994. Silent Interviews: On Language, Race, Sex, Science Fiction, and Some Comics. Wesleyan University Press. 0-8195-6280-7.
Dick, Philip K., 1995. The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick: Selected Literary and Philosophical Writings. Pantheon Books. 0-679-42644-2.
Dillard, Annie. 1974. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Bantam Books.
A poet explores Nature.
Featherston, Elena, ed. 1994. Skin Deep: Women Writing on Color, Culture, and Identity. The Crossing Press. 0-89594-708-0.
Frazier, Ian, ed. 1997. The Best American Essays, 1997. Houghton Mifflin. 9-780395-856956.
A variety of writing styles and topics, many focused on humor and irony.
Gaines, Patrice, 1995. Laughing in the Dark: From Colored Girl to Woman of Color -- a Journey from
Prison to Power. Anchor Books. 0-385-48027-x.
An essay which is a full book; an excellent autobiography of growing up.
Greeley, Andrew M. 1987. Confessions of a Parish Priest. Pocket Books. 0-671-64477-7.
Harvey, Graham and Charlotte Hardman, ed., 1996. Paganism Today: Wiccans, Druids, the Goddess and Ancient Earth Traditions for the Twenty-First Century. 0-7225-3233-4.
Hoagland, Edward, ed. 1999. The Best American Essays of 1999. Houghton Mifflin Company. 0-395-86055-5.
This showed up in September of '99, so one can't really say this is inclusively the best essays of the year; indeed this series
really refers to essays published the year prior to that stated on the title. A somewhat uneven selection, but
the best are indeed excellent. I'm still reading, but so far Charles Bowden's and Joyce Carol
Oates' essays have touched me the most effectively.
Hoffman, Abbie, 1989. The Best of Abbie Hoffman. Four Walls Eight Windows. 0-941423-42-5.
Holland, Barbara. 1995. Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps,
Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences.
Little, Brown. 0-316-37057-6.
Mini-essays done with a light touch. A good counteractive towards taking oneself too seriously. An
entirely different world than that of MacDonald (below), which was accentuated for me in that both
books were acquired at the same time.
Hopman, Ellen Evert and Lawrence Bond. 1996. People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out.
Destiny Books. 0-89281-559-0.
Done in essay/interview format, the editors allow complex voice to the people they interview.
Hutchins, Loraine and Lani Kaahumanu, ed., 1991. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out. Alyson Publications. 1-55583-174-5.
Jones, Prudence and Caitlín Matthews, ed. 1990. Voices from the Circle: The Heritage of
Western Paganism. 0-85030-785-6.
Perspectives are mostly from European/British Isles Paganism.
King, Stephen. 2000. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. 0-684-85352-3.
He writes about himself, writing. Enjoyable, and some techniques are passed on.
Kingston, Maxine Hong, 1981. China Men. Ballantine Books. 0-345-29482-3.
Kingston, Maxine Hong, 1976. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. Vintage Press. 0-394-72392-9.
Kingsolver,Barbara, 1996. High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never. HarperPerennial.
0-06-092756-9.
Kingsolver discusses Tucson and her transplantation there; she delves into the nature of
writing, and the nature of family. Metaphoric observations are frequent, and by their nature,
thought-provoking. Strong ties to her daughter are readily apparent here. She has a grounding
in multicultural perspectives.
Lamott, Anne, 1999. Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith. Anchor Books.
0-385-49609-5.
A woman of my generation discovers Christian spirituality, and writes of her life and coming
to terms with herself as a woman of faith, serious warts and all. She's an excellent writer, and
apparently a fascinating woman. The combination of reverence and irreverence in viewpoint is refreshing.
Le Guin, Ursula K., 1989. Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places. Grove Press. 0-8021-3529-3.
Le Guin, Ursula K., 1982. The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction. Berkley
Books. 0-425-05205-2.
Most of the essays have more of relevance than "just" fantasy and science fiction.
Least Heat Moon, William, 1982. Blue Highways: A Journey into America. Fawcett-Crest. 0-449-20432-4.
Lightman, Alan, ed. 2000. The Best American Essays, 2000. 0-618-03580-x.
More essays from a variety of perspectives. Fairly multicultural.
MacDonald, Michael Patrick. 1999. All Souls: A Family Story from Southie.
Beacon Press. 0-8070-7212-5.
Inner-city poverty isn't definable on racial terms. This is a touching story of one young Irish
lad growing up in a downtrodden section of Boston, dealing with serious societal issues as an
individual. Excellent. It really, really, gets one to thinking about our typical
political responses to societal issues, which mostly address superficial aspects of things
rather than root causes; rather than the needs of the multi-faceted individuals involved.
MacDonald eventually fled the horrors of Southie, but just as inevitably, came home to the
richness of the values he came to see as being hidden yet intrinsic to this place.
Mah, Adeline Yen, 1997. Falling Leaves: The
Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter. Broadway Books. 0-7679-0357-9.
This woman is a survivor in the face of psychological abuse.
McCain, John, 1999. Faith of My Fathers. Random House. 0-375-50191-6.
John McCain is the only Republican to attempt to throw his hat into the Presidential ring this
year (1999 ce) whom I respect, even if I do not agree with all of his goals. (And Bill Bradley is the only Democrat I view in a similar
position... and ditto about his goals, too.) This book is about loyalty, about living a meaningful
life in the face of the types of adversity (living in a POW camp) that few of us ever imagine
facing. Recommended.
Nesaule, Agate. 1997. A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War
and Exile. Penguin Books. 0-14-026190-7.
Agate Nesaule was a Latvian refuge during World War II; this is her story concerning her childhood and events under
German and Russian occupation and captivity, as well as how a pervading sense of shame, guilt and
worthlessness marked her for years to come while making a new life in America. All stories are
valuable, she teaches us, in an evocative prose style that one remembers anew while watching / remembering
newscasts from Kosovo and Rwanda.
O'Hearn, Claudine Chiawei. 1998. Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial + Bicultural.
Pantheon Books. 0-375-70011-0.
A fascinating read, as people gain and express understanding of "divided" selves.
Oliver, Mary. 1995. Blue Pastures. Harcourt Brace and Co. 0-15-600215-9.
In this slim, well-written volume, she's interested in the poetic power of words, as well as in the oceanside.
Ozick, Cynthia, ed. 1998. The Best American Essays of 1998. Houghton Mifflin Company. 0-395-86052-0.
An uneven bunch of essays -- the really good are excellent, but then we get a boring name-dropping tedium
from Diana Trilling, an evident darling of the New Yorker.
Pichaske, David R. 1996. Late Harvest: Rural American Writing. Smithmark. 0-7651-9735-9.
Plaskow, Judith and Carol P. Christ, ed., 1989. Weaving the Visions: New Patterns in Feminist Spirituality. HarperCollins. 0-06-061383-1.
Rucker, Rudy. 1999. Seek!: Selected Nonfiction. Four Walls Eight Windows. 1-56858-138-6.
Essays and articles by the mathematician, software engineer, and science fiction writer on
a variety of topics, including his own personal journey and explorations.
Rushdie, Salman. 1992. Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991. Granta Books. 0-14-014036-0.
A lot of these essays are lit crit, and others are reflections on history and current events, some
colored through his own experiences.
Russell, Bertrand. 1950. Unpopular Essays: 12 Adventures in Argument. Simon and Schuster.
Sandor, Marjorie, 1999. The Night Gardener: A Search for Home. The Lyons Press. 1-55821-931-5. Sandor writes about fishing, gardening, and gives a moving tribute to a family friend. She keeps her own self distant from much of this, at moments one might expect her to become voluable.
Schlobin, Roger C., ed. 1982. The Aesthetics of Fantasy Literature and Art. University of Notre Dame Press. 0-268-00600-8.
Walker, Alice, 1988. Living By the Word: Selected Writings 1973-1987. Harcourt Brace & Company. 0-15-652865-7. She writes engagingly on racial issues, sexuality, culture, seaweed (!), and people.
Wallace, David Foster, 1997. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. Back Bay Books. 0-316-92528. Wallace typically writes long essays, presumably to match the long novels he is known for. His approach seems to combine humor with compulsive recording of his impressions, in a writing style that can even make tennis reasonably interesting.
Watkins, James K., ed., 1998. Southern Selves: From Mark Twain and Eudora Welty to Maya Angelou and
Kaye Gibbons. Vintage. 0-679-78103-x.
A variety of topics, although discourse on racial issues from black and from white authors dominates.
Weinstock, Jacqueline S., and Esther D. Rothblum, ed., 1996. Lesbian Friendships:
For Ourselves and Each Other. New York University Press. 0-8147-7473-3.
Essays and articles on lesbian friendships with other lesbians, straight women, and with men.
Weise, Elizabeth Reba, ed., 1992. Closer to Home: Bisexuality and Feminism. Seal Press. 1-878067-17-6.
Wilson, Robert Anton. 1977. Cosmic Trigger: The Final Secret of the Illuminati. Pocket Books.
0-671-41446-1.
He has written other books of essay, but it is this one which hangs together strongest, in my mind.
Zaleski, Philip, ed. 1999. The Best Spiritual Writing 1999.
HarperCollins. 0-06-251805-4.
Some high quality spiritual writings from a variety of faiths. Maybe
a goal should be improving the overall quality of Pagan writing, and submitting suggestions of
good quality Pagan writing we come across it to the editor of this new series.
Zaleski, Philip, ed. 2000. The Best Spiritual Writing 2000.
HarperCollins. 0-06-251670-1.
It is only September 2000 as I buy this book, and already the best of 2000 items are showing
up. I'm currently hopscotching through the essays, and at this incomplete point, the Annie
Dillard selection has been the highlight.
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