introduction 1
A Question from Phillip Lopate & “Of Old Girlfriends” 4
A Question from Cheryl Strayed & “Dash It All” 14
A Question from Julianna Baggott & “The Napkin Is the
Message” 22
A Question from Judith Kitchen & “A Striped Essay” 44
A Question from Barrie Jean Borich & “Mr. Plimpton’s Revenge”
56
A Question from Lia Purpura & “Understanding Your
Cauliflower” 70
A Question from Sue William Silverman & “How Tasty
Was My Little Frenchman” 78
A Question from B.J. Hollars & “Have You Learned
Your Lesson, Amigo?” 86
A Question from Diane Ackerman & “Of Bums” 100
A Question from Dinah Lenney & “Pulling Teeth, or Twenty
Reasons Why My Daughter's Turning Twenty Can't Come
Soon Enough” 106
A Question from Philip Graham & “How to Choose
an Appropriate Essay Topic” 116
A Question from Michael Martone & “Four Essential Tips for
Telling the Truth in Memoir and Securing That Blockbuster
Book Deal” 120
A Question from Patrick Madden & “The Actual Message Mike the Tree
Guy Left on My Answering Machine the Evening I Arrived Home to Find
that the Tree He Was Cutting Down When I Left
for Work That Morning Still Stood Tall in My Side Yard”
136
A Question from Steve Almond & “An Essay on the Inherent
Dangers of Memoir Writing” 140
A Question from Ander Monson & “Nelson Algren’s Shorts”
144
A Question from Brenda Miller & “Why I Trained My Dog to
Post” 154
A Question from David Shields & “Beep! Beep!” 168
A Question from Roxane Gay & “Don’t Read This Essay” 174
A Question from Brian Doyle & “Clogged and Stupid and Weary”
182
A Question from Lee Gutkind 186
acknowledgments 191
about the author 193
index 195
DINTY W. MOORE is a highly regarded essayist and author of numerous books, includingThe Mindful Writer, Crafting the Personal Essay, and the memoirBetween Panic and Desire, winner of the Grub Street Nonfiction Book Prize. He has been published inthePhiladelphia Inquirer Magazine, Gettysburg Review, Harper's, andCrazyhorse, among others. He also editsBrevity- The Journal of Concise Literary Nonfictionand has served as coordinating editor for the annual anthologyBest Creative Nonfiction. Moore currently teaches as director of Ohio University's BA, MA, and PhD in Creative Writing program.
". . . a guide to writing essays that is both brilliantly
instructive and wonderfully entertaining. . . . Highly recommended
for writers and anyone who loves to laugh out loud while they
read."
-- Library Journal (starred review)
"[Moore's] witty and disarming new book is framed as an advice
column for accomplished writers. . . He is fun to read (don’t miss
Mr Plimpton’s Revenge: A Google Maps Essay, in Which George
Plimpton Delivers My Belated and Well-Deserved Comeuppance). And he
sneaks in answers so we are left with a touch of wisdom as well as
laughter."
-- BBC.com
"Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy is Moore at his best. It’s witty
but also substantial, and the conversations between Moore and his
interlocutors get to the heart of what makes the essay such a
compelling form: its capacity to render, on the page, the human
experience."
-- The Rumpus
". . . the book as a whole will leave you feeling educated,
amused, and perhaps even inspired."
-- The A.V. Club
"Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy is an enjoyable read. . . Its witty,
modest tone belies the artistry of the essays contained, which are
exemplars of the short form."
-- Shelf Awareness
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