Phillip Lopate Books

A monumental, canon-defining anthology of three centuries of American essays, from Cotton Mather and Benjamin Franklin to David Foster Wallace and Zadie Smith—selected by acclaimed essayist Phillip Lopate "Not only an education but a joy. This is a book for the ages." —Rivka Galchen, author of Atmospheric Disturbances The essay form is an especially democratic one, and many of the essays Phillip Lopate has gathered here address themselves—sometimes critically—to American values. We see the Puritans, the Founding Fathers and Mothers, and the stars of the American Renaissance struggle to establish a national culture. A grand tradition of nature writing runs from Audubon, Thoreau, and John Muir to Rachel Carson and Annie Dillard. Marginalized groups use the essay to assert or to complicate notions of identity. Lopate has cast his net wide, embracing critical, personal, political, philosophical, literary, polemical, autobiographical, and humorous essays. Americans by birth as well as immigrants appear here, famous essayists alongside writers more celebrated for fiction or poetry. The result is a dazzling overview of the riches of the American essay.

Set in the 1960s, this account captures the profound connection between a teacher and his young students in an urban school. Philip Lopate reflects on the challenges and joys of teaching poetry, offering insights into the transformative power of education. Celebrated for its heartfelt portrayal, the narrative delves into the complexities of youth and the dedication of educators striving to create nurturing environments. Lopate's observations illuminate the resilience and beauty found within the school community, making it a timeless exploration of teaching and learning.

Lopate's deep passion for cinema shines through in this collection of essays, which spans his extensive engagement with film over twenty-five years. From analyzing iconic directors like Visconti to exploring the evolution of the New York Film Festival, he offers insightful commentary that reflects his journey as both a filmmaker and a prominent essayist. This compilation celebrates his most significant writings, making it a delightful read for movie enthusiasts eager to delve into the art of film through Lopate's unique perspective.

Exploring themes of honesty and self-reflection, this memoir comprises interconnected personal essays, showcasing Phillip Lopate's evolution as a writer. As the concluding volume of his trilogy, it builds upon the foundations laid in his previous works. Lopate, a significant figure in American essay writing, pushes the boundaries of the personal essay form, revealing deep insights and vulnerabilities. This ambitious work highlights his journey and the art of personal storytelling, making it a compelling read for those interested in introspective narratives.

The Art of the Personal Essay is a comprehensive anthology celebrating the personal essay's rich history over four centuries. Edited by Phillip Lopate, it features over seventy-five essays that explore daily life and human experiences, showcasing influential works from ancient times to modern masterpieces.

"The three decades that followed World War II were an exceptionally fertile period for American essays. The explosion of journals and magazines, the rise of public intellectuals, and breakthroughs in the arts inspired a flowering of literary culture. At the same time, the many problems that confronted mid-century America--racism, sexism, nuclear threat, war, poverty, and environmental degradation among them--proved fruitful topics for America's best minds. In The Golden Age of the American Essay, Phillip Lopate assembles a dazzling array of famous writers, critics, sociologists, theologians, historians, activists, theorists, humorists, poets, and novelists. Here are writers like James Agee, E. B. White, A. J. Liebling, Randall Jarrell, and Mary McCarthy, pivoting from the comic indignities of daily life to world peace, consumerism, and restaurants in Paris. Here is Norman Mailer on Jackie Kennedy, Vladimir Nabokov on Lolita, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," and Richard Hofstadter's "The Paranoid Style in American Politics." Here are Gore Vidal, Rachel Carson, James Baldwin, Susan Sontag, John Updike, Joan Didion, and many more, in a treasury of brilliant writing that has stood the test of time." -Amazon

Included are all seven of Max Beerbohm's major early essays. Though these essays were justly acclaimed in their time, their magnificence is such that they also demand the highest accolades in ours, replete as they are with undiminished colour and spectacle, humour and barbed excellence.--From back cover.

By turns humorous, learned, celebratory, and elegiac, the author displays a keen intelligence and a flair for language that turn bits of common, everyday life into resonant narrative. He maintains a conversational charm while taking the contemporary personal essay to a new level of complexity and candour.

Facsimile of colour illustrated 1918 ed. of The Happy Hypocrite.