The Writer's Presence

By scouring hundreds of essays in search of the best writing available, the editors of The Writer’s Presence have once again collected teachable readings by great writers, showcasing distinctive voices and clear points of view. The result is a blend of classic pieces by favorites like James Baldwin, Annie Dillard, and Amy Tan, and fresh pieces by rising stars like Dinaw Mengestu, Jonathan Safran Foer, and Azar Nafisi.? Together the selections represent different communities, time periods, levels of difficulty, and fields of study, with topics that intersect in intriguing and nuanced ways, giving students the opportunity to think critically and develop their own voices. Over thirty of the selections are accompanied by writers’ commentaries on their work, allowing students to see the origins of each writer’s distinctive presence. With so many exceptional readings and so many ways to teach them, the possibilities are endless. Read the preface.

DONALD McQUADE is professor of English and former dean of undergraduate studies and Vice Chancellor of University Affairs at the University of California, Berkeley. A past chair of CCCC, he has directed the writing programs at Berkeley and at Queens College, CUNY, and has published widely on American literature, American culture, and composition theory and practice. With his daughter Christine, he is coeditor of Seeing & Writing for Bedford/St. Martin's.

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ROBERT ATWAN is the director of The Blue Hills Writing Institute at Curry College and founder of the Best American Essays series, for which he serves as series editor. His essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Atlantic Monthly, and Kenyon Review. For Bedford/St. Martin's, he has edited Ten on Ten: Major Essayists on Recurring Themes; Our Times: Readings from Recent Periodicals, America Now: Short Readings from Recent Periodicals, and Convergences.