A Braided Heart provides a friendly, personal, and smart guide to the writing life. It also offers clear and original instruction on craft elements at the forefront of today’s emerging forms in creative nonfiction: from the short-short, to the braided form, to the hermit crab essay. An acknowledged expert in these forms, Brenda Miller gives writers practical advice on how to sustain and invigorate their writing practice, while also encouraging readers to explore their own writing lives.“Brenda Miller writes so beautifully in these lyrical and ‘braided’ essays—personal meditations that take us deep into the miracle of writing itself. Her eye is always alert, her ear wonderfully tuned to the nuances of perception. The art of the essay is alive and well in her hands.”—Jay Parini, author of Borges and Me
Brenda Miller is Professor of Creative Writing at Western Washington University.
AcknowledgementsPreface by Jay PariniSection OneFirst WordsFanHand, WritingDurable GoodsOn ThermostatsThe Case Against Metaphor: An ApologiaSection TwoA Braided Heart: Shaping the Lyric Essay“Brenda Miller Has a Cold,” or: How a Lyric Essay HappensA Case Against Courage in Creative NonfictionWriting Inside the Web: Creative Nonfiction in the Age of ConnectionThe Fine Art of Containment in Creative NonfictionThe Shared Space Between Reader and Writer: A Case StudySection ThreeIn MemoriamOn the Power of Your WordOn Friendship, Assignments, Detail, and TrustCables, Chains, and Lariats: Form as ProcessThe Shape of EmptinessEpilogueCollaboration in the Time of Covid-19Sources
"Miller soars when she captures such personal, vivid details…solid and practical…aspiring writers will find some sound advice.”—Publishers Weekly
