Bradbury, all charged up, drunk on life, joyous with writing, puts together nine past essays on writing and creativity and discharges every ounce of zest and gusto in him. In the opening piece, he tells us: "The first thing a writer should be is—excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health." In a Writer's Digest piece on writing, he also tells about overcoming his early years of imitating Poe, Dickens, Lovecraft, and finding his real voice in word lists with homey associations ("THE LAKE. THE NIGHT. THE CRICKETS. THE RAVINE. THE ATTIC," and so on), of writing The Martian Chronicles in unconscious imitation of Winesburg, Ohio. Other essays are "The Care and Feeding of the Muse" (". . .I have had a metaphor jump at me, give me a spin, and run me off to do a story"); "Drunk, and in Charge of a Bicycle," more about word-association and where many of his famous stories sprang from; separate pieces on the writing of Fahrenheit 451 (on a dime-operated typewriter rented for half-hours in a UCLA basement) and Dandelion Wine; the rise of science fiction after long neglect; his thoughts on playwriting; and Zen thoughts on writing ("Work. Relax. Don't think"). He ends with a cycle of poems on creativity. Bradbury lovers will find this a Bradbury feast. Nonlovers may find the fare a bit exotic and rich.
Pub Date: March 26, 1990
ISBN: 1877741094
Page Count: 190
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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