Best of "Prairie Schooner" Essays: Personal Essays

Called one of the best magazines in America by Nan Talese and "the roots" in Esquire's garden of contemporary literature, and named one of Writer's Digest's "Nineteen Magazines That Matter," Prairie Schooner--one of the oldest and most prestigious literary journals in the country--celebrates seventy-five years of continuous publication. This powerful anthology collects some of the best personal essays from the poets, novelists and critics who have appeared in the journal's pages.

Readers will explore a kaleidoscope of memories and experiences, including the power of a planting season, the catharsis that fishing holds for an adolescent boy, the literary fallout from a cousin's death, the lessons learned in the parlor of a Puerto Rican grandmother, the impact of discovering an identical twin's homosexuality, and the revelations of a homecoming.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803289820
• ISBN13: 9780803289826
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

An excellent read

With nonfiction being so popular nowadays, it's sometimes difficult to choose who and what to spend your money on, but with this anthology you get a taste of several different authors. My favorites are Bauer, Bain, and Beard (the B's win hands down, I guess), and I went on to read Beard's book too which is great. I love not only how personal these essays are, but also how heartfelt they are--I didn't feel the aloof stance of the observer that I sometimes feel in nonfiction--I felt like these were genuine people trying to make a connection by telling their stories. It's an excellent book.

Truly The Best

Prairie Schooner is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary journals in the United States. It has been in continuous publication for 75 years and has been called one of the best magazines in America and was named one of the "Nineteen Magazines That Matter" by Writer's Digest. I think they got it right. Best of Prairie Schooner provides the reader with some of the best personal essays from critics, novelists, and poets such as Wright Morris, Maxine Kumin, David Haward Bain and Nancy Willard. These essays are personal in that they connect with the reader in personal, almost intimate levels, letting the reader see"...what makes their stories, what makes their poems, what makes their lives." This is a wonderful anthology that will provide the reader with delightful, insightful, worthwhile reading that is as advertised, the Best of Prairie Schooner. A good job by the Univ. of Nebraska Press.