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Title details for Body Work by Melissa Febos - Available

Body Work

The Radical Power of Personal Narrative

by Melissa Febos
Melissa Febos
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
In this bold and exhilarating mix of memoir and master class, Melissa Febos tackles the emotional, psychological, and physical work of writing intimately while offering an utterly fresh examination of the storyteller's life and the questions which run through it. How might we go about capturing on the page the relationships that have formed us? How do we write about our bodies, their desires and traumas? What does it mean for an author's way of writing, or living, to be dismissed as "navel-gazing"-or else hailed as "so brave, so raw"? And to whom, in the end, do our most intimate stories belong? Drawing on her own path from aspiring writer to acclaimed author and writing professor-via addiction and recovery, sex work and academia-Melissa Febos has created a captivating guide to the writing life, and a brilliantly unusual exploration of subjectivity, privacy, and the power of divulgence. Candid and inspiring, Body Work will empower readers and writers alike, offering ideas-and occasional notes of caution-to anyone who has ever hoped to see themselves in a story.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 15, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781696608084
      • File size: 103538 KB
      • Duration: 03:35:42

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Author/narrator Melissa Febos delivers a rousing manifesto on the transformative power of personal storytelling. This part-memoir, part-writing guide is presented as a series of candid essays that explore writing about traumatic experiences. Febos draws listeners in with her clear, unapologetic narration of practical advice about how to write about ourselves and/or others. She presents examples from her own work and from other writers in a way that provides encouragement and guidance. While Febos's writing may at times come across as academic, her heartfelt performance and insight provide broad resonance for both writers and nonwriters alike. For fans of writing tips, the audio format may best be paired with the print version as Febos's work inspires note-taking in abundance. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from December 6, 2021
      Memoirist Febos (Girlhood) assembles four whip-smart essays on the power of personal writing, which mark her “attempts to describe the ways that writing is integrated into the fundamental movements of my life: political, corporeal, spiritual, psychological, and social.” “In Praise of Navel Gazing” is a defense of memoirs focused on trauma, which she suggests are often seen as “gauche”: “the resistance to memoirs about trauma is always in part... a resistance to movements of social justice.” In “Mind Fuck,” she details a series of “unrules” for writing about sex: “sex doesn’t have to be good” and “writing about sex doesn’t have to include sex at all.” “A Big Shitty Party” shares hard-learned insights on writing about real people in nonfiction (when people give Febos permission to include them, “what they actually mean is that I have their permission to write anything about them that they can imagine I might”), and “The Return” makes a case that personal writing can help one deal with painful experiences. Febos’s fellow scribes will appreciate her shrewd takes on the intersection of craft and life, and even nonwriters will enjoy the artistry on display throughout. This is a wonder. Agent: Ethan Bassoff, Ross Yoon Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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