Brief Encounters: A Collection of Contemporary Nonfiction

by Judith Kitchen, Dinah Lenney

Overview

The best of short literary memoirs, essays, and reflections, many of which were written expressly for this collection. Also available

The late Judith Kitchen, editor of the perennially popular anthologies Short Takes, In Short, and In Brief, was greatly influential in recognizing and establishing flash creative nonfiction as a form in its own right. In Brief Encounters, she and writer/editor/actor Dinah Lenney expand this vibrant field with nearly eighty new selections: shorts—as these sharply focused pieces have come to be known— representing an impressive range of voices, perspectives, sensibilities, and forms. Brief Encounters features the work of the emerging and the established—including Stuart Dybek, Roxanne Gay, Eduardo Galeano, Leslie Jamison, and Julian Barnes—arranged by theme to explore the human condition in ways intimate, idiosyncratic, funny, sad, provocative, lyrical, unflinching. From the rant to the rave, the meditation to the polemic, the confession to the valediction, this collection of shorts—this celebration of true and vivid prose—will enlarge your world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393350999
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	11/09/2015
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	612,573
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Writer and educator Judith Kitchen (1941–2014) was the cofounder of the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University.

Dinah Lenney teaches writing in the Bennington Writing Seminars, the Rainier Writing Workshop, and at the University of Southern California.

Editorial Reviews

"These are encounters you’ll want to have, ones that transform you, the way all great writing does, by language plain and brilliant, seductive and honest, only these do it more quickly—usually with a single turn of the page. The book is a revolution in reading, one you will be happy to join, and the writers are all ones you want to see more of."

Robert Shapard

★ 09/01/2015
Late educator and writer Kitchen (1941–2014; coeditor, In Short) and writer and actress Lenney (writing, Univ. of Southern California; Bigger Than Life) have assembled an eclectic assortment of new short prose pieces—sometimes referred to as "shorts" or "flash creative nonfiction"—by known and up-and-coming writers. There is no unifying theme here, and the 80 entries cover a wide range of subject matter, or concerns, as the editors refer to them, to challenge and entertain readers. Although the entries often don't exceed three pages, they aren't without depth, and they will engage the reader. Kitchen explains that they're like a gallery, or galleries with a gallery, to be read in any order, thereby creating a reader-centered experience. An alphabetical table of contents, a list of themes, and contributor biographies make this an even more attractive book. VERDICT This book has something for everyone and, with little time commitment needed, it's perfect for readers with short attention spans, that morning commute on the bus, or a day at the beach. A great introduction to fresh writing.—Mark Manivong, Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC

Library Journal

2015-07-07
Two distinguished writers/editors gather together flash nonfiction essays from both established and emerging writers. In this volume, Kitchen (The Circus Train, 2014, etc.), who died in 2014, and Lenney (The Object Parade, 2014, etc.) continue the work they began 20 years ago when they first began editing anthologies of the newest and best in contemporary nonfiction. The works selected for inclusion are as delightfully varied in terms of tone, style, and subject matter as they are individually unique from each other. This diversity is signaled by the opening piece, James Richardson's "Aphorisms & Ten-Second Essays," an experimental reflection on the nature of storytelling that interweaves random truths about daily life. While the editors do not explicitly organize the pieces according to theme, they situate them in such a way so that, and as Lenney observes, "where one writer ends, another begins." In "What I Hear," for example, Martha Cooley reflects on her tinnitus and how the "instruments" she hears inside her head are ultimately playing me to myself." In the essay that directly follows it, Geeta Kothari picks up the theme of listening. In her story, the perspective shifts to a woman who has spent her whole life doing as others have told her, even when what she has heard is superstition. Part of the vigor and liveliness that characterize this volume also derive from the fact that Kitchen and Lenney include the work of new writers like Josette Kubaszyk. In her lyrical essay "Swing," she explores a young girl's thoughts as she examines a swing and reflects on both its previous owner and her own experiences "swooping forward, falling back, humming the rhythm of the wind." Refreshing and often unexpected, the stories in this collection—which run the gamut from memoir to critique to meditation and more—offer insights into experiences that, as they challenge readers' perceptions of the world, also celebrate the pain, joy, and wonder of being human. A vibrant and expansive anthology.

Kirkus Reviews