Dana Gioia Books

"Highly enjoyable . . .  Studying with Miss Bishop  offers the opportunity to encounter writing as an act of civility."― Wall Street Journal"Fascinating snapshots of remarkable encounters which, when brought together, chart a delightfully unusual path to literary success."― Booklist"Reading this memoir is like being at one of those memorable dinner parties, attended by the best and brightest, sparkling with wit and excellent conversations. You don’t want it to be over, the conversations to end! But with books, you need not worry. You can go back to the party, savor it, reread it again, and again."—Julia Alvarez, author of  In the Time of the Butterflies  and  AfterlifeIn  Studying with Miss Bishop , Dana Gioia discusses six people who helped him become a writer and better understand what it meant to dedicate one’s life to writing. Four were famous authors—Elizabeth Bishop, John Cheever, James Dickey, and Robert Fitzgerald. Two were unknown—Gioia’s Merchant Marine uncle and Ronald Perry, a forgotten poet. Each of the six essays provides a vivid portrait; taken together they tell the story of Gioia’s own journey from working-class LA to international literary success.

Written with the student in mind, this text includes an impressive collection of both traditional and contemporary poems representing a cultural diversity of authors and a richness in the range of style. To frame the selections, the text presents helpful apparatus and extensive material on writing about literature 66 new poems and 17 new works of critical prose have been added to this new edition, along with 6 student sample essays, and new Writing Critically sections at the end of the chapters.