“A personal essay often includes some or a lot of personal confession. That makes the reader feel less lonely in their confusion and darkness.” FeelsDarknessReaderLonelyConfusionConfessionEssaysPersonal Essays Author:Phillip Lopate
“The essay must be artistically rendered: You must keep the reader engaged, whether with wit, conflict, mischief, and/or yes, with honesty.” HonestyReaderConflictWitEngagedEssaysMischief Author:Phillip Lopate
“You must read a lot of personal essays - you needn't reinvent the wheel.” WheelsEssaysPersonal Essays Author:Phillip Lopate
“Most good essays are conversations with yourself - not just your decided thoughts but your dilemmas.” ConversationDecidedEssaysDilemma Author:Phillip Lopate
“Contradictory strands create an essay that's richly ambivalent.” EssaysContradictoryStrandsAmbivalent Author:Phillip Lopate
“The essay is a wonderful medium. I might mention that some writers who longed to be novelists were better as essayists: Sontag, Baldwin, Vidal, Mary McCarthy, Mailer.” MightWonderfulMediumsNovelistsMaryEssaysEssayists Author:Phillip Lopate
“Doubt is my boon companion, the faithful St. Bernard ever at my side. Whether writing essays or just going about daily life, I am constantly second-guessing myself. My mind is filled with 'yes, buts,' 'so whats?' and other skeptical rejoinders. I am forever monitoring myself for traces of folly, insensitivity, arrogance, false humility, cruelty, stupidity, immaturity and, guess what, I keep finding examples. Age has not made me wiser, except maybe in retrospect.” WritingMindMadeAgeSidesForeverDoubtExampleHumilityFindingsFilledStupidityCrueltyFaithfulArroganceFollyDaily LifeCompanionWiserEssaysSkepticalRetrospectGuessingImmaturityBoonMonitoringInsensitivitySecond GuessingFalse HumilityWriting Essays Author:Phillip Lopate
