The first comprehensive work on nonfiction as an art form - Shows how nonfiction, especially how-to and self-help, can take on the same power and luminosity as great fiction - Develops processes to reliably induce the dreaming state from which all writing comes - Teaches the skill of analogical thinking that is the core perceptual tool for writers - Explores the subtle techniques of powerful writing, from inducing associational dreaming in the reader, to language symmetry, sound patterning, foreshadowing, feeling flow, and more Approaching writing as a sacred art, Stephen Buhner explores the core of the craft: the communication of deep meaning that feeds not just the mind but also the soul of the reader. Tapping into the powerful archetypes within language, he shows how to enrich your writing by following "golden threads" of inspiration while understanding the crucial invisibles essential to the art of both fiction and nonfiction: how to craft language with feeling and vision, employ altered states of mind to access the writing trance, clear your work by recognizing the powerful sway of clichéd thinking and hidden baggage, and intentionally generate duende--that physical/emotional response to art that gives you chills, opens up unrecognized aspects of reality, or simply resonates in your soul. Covering some very practical aspects of writing such as layering and word symmetry, the author also explores the inner world of publishing--what you really will encounter when you become a writer. He then shows how to develop a powerful and engaging book proposal based on understanding the proposal as a work of fiction--the map is never the territory, nor is the proposal the book that it will become. This book, written using all the techniques discussed within it, offers a powerful, experiential journey into the heart of writing. It does for nonfiction what John Gardner's books on writing did for fiction. It is one of the most significant works on writing published in our time.
Paperback | 480 pages
153.42 x 224.54 x 33.53mm
Back cover copy
WRITING REFERENCE / PERSONAL GROWTH "The most subversive book on writing I have ever encountered--and the most important." --Herbie Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of Faerie Wars "If Lao-tzu and Emerson could have a dialogue on writing, they would welcome the company of this remarkable book." --William Howarth, author of Walking with Thoreau "As a writer and a teacher, I've learned more from Buhner's book than from anything I've read about writing since the works of John Gardner and William Stafford. I'm truly grateful to him for having written it." --John Elder, instructor at Breadloaf Writers Conference, professor at Middlebury College, author of Reading the Mountains of Home and The Frog Run Approaching writing as a sacred art, Stephen Buhner explores the core of the craft: the communication of deep meaning that feeds not just the mind but also the soul of the reader. Tapping in to the powerful archetypes within language, he shows how to enrich your writing by following "golden threads" of inspiration while understanding the crucial...show more
Review quote
"If you want a kind of deep ecology for nonfiction writing, a practical guide ingrained with the spirits of William Stafford and Federico García Lorca too, Ensouling Language is your book. Its pages, studded with samples and suggestions, come via the author's fresh and liberating voice, opening up the 'imaginal world' we cannot do without."-- "John Felstiner, professor of English, Stanford University, and author of Can Poetry Save the Earth?"
About Stephen Harrod Buhner
Stephen Harrod Buhner is the author of 13 books of nonfiction and 1 of poetry. His books have been translated into 14 languages and have been nominated for 11 awards, winning 8. A member of PEN and the Authors Guild, he lives in Silver City, New Mexico.
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