Part I: people we encountered -- Harold Brodkey / Edmund White. Imagining influence / Robert Boyers -- Fathers / Jay Cantor -- Mentors in general, Peter Taylor in particular / John Casey -- Life in books / Maud Casey -- Annie Dillard and the writing life / Alexander Chee -- Snow globe / Jonathan Safran Foer -- When Julie met Deb / Julia Glass -- Tiger and the pelican: mentors Elizabeth Hardwick and Janice Thaddeus / Mary Gordon -- Moment / Arnon Grunberg -- Only plump the pillows / Margot Livesey -- Sontag's rules / Sigrid Nunez -- In the absence of mentors/monsters: notes on writerly influences / Joyce Carol Oates -- Scholars and the pornographer / Carolyn See -- "But what I really love about this is this amazing game that you've invented": an appreciation of John Hawkes / Jim Shepard -- Munro country / Cheryl Strayed -- Mother country / Evelyn Toynton -- Seducer / Lily Tuck -- Harold Brodkey / Edmund White. Part III: times of our lives -- Iowa City, 1974 / Jane Smiley. Five million head of cattle / Samantha Hunt -- On fat city / Denis Johnson -- Mad hope and mavericks / ZZ Packer -- Getting it. Deeply immersed. In awe. Learning. Reading Ms. McDermott. Appreciating beginnings. Still appreciating beginnings. Nailing it. / Anita Shreve -- Paper mentors / Martha Southgate -- Part III: times of our lives -- Coming of age at bread loaf / Christopher Castellani -- Please don't write / Neil Gordon -- Storying / Dinaw Mengestu -- Growing pains / Caryl Phillips -- Iowa City, 1974 / Jane Smiley.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.