Publisher's Synopsis
This study of writers and writing introduces readers to the major transitions in autobiography and biography, illustrating how writers transform their personal experience for different audiences. This book also explores the relationship between the writer's voice and stylistic features which express his attitudes towards his or her personal experience. The book guides readers in developing their reading and writing skills, introducing them to various techniques writers use to interpret experience. Chapters have been organized according to themes which have traditionally elicited autobiographical narratives, and include accounts of personal growth, nature writing, and narratives of religious and philosophical exploration. The book presents many different kinds of writing, including diaries, journals, letters, biographies, memoirs and essays. Its perspectives range from African-American, Native-American, Asian-American and Hispanic writers, and it offers cross-cultural and regional narratives as well as selections by classic authors. Almost half of the 59 selections are by women.
