About this item
The traditional writing workshop was established with white male writers in mind; what we call craft is informed by their cultural values. In this bold and original examination of elements of writing--including plot, character, conflict, structure, and believability--and aspects of workshop--including the silenced writer and the imagined reader-- Matthew Salesses asks questions to invigorate these familiar concepts. He upends Western notions of how a story must progress. How can we rethink craft, and the teaching of it, to better reach writers with diverse backgrounds? How can we invite diverse storytelling traditions into literary spaces? Drawing from examples including One Thousand and One Nights, Curious George, Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, and the Asian American classic No-No Boy, Salesses asks us to reimagine craft and the workshop.
About the Author
Matthew Salesses was adopted from Korea. He is the author of the Amazon bestseller, THE HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD, the national bestseller, CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD, and the PEN/Faulkner Finalist DISAPPEAR DOPPELGÄNGER DISAPPEAR. His writing can be found in Best American Essays 2020, NPR, The New York Times, The Guardian, VICE.com, and many other publications. His previous books include I'M NOT SAYING, I'M JUST SAYING (a novel) ; DIFFERENT RACISMS: ON STEREOTYPES, THE INDIVIDUAL, AND ASIAN AMERICAN MASCULINITY (essays) ; and THE LAST REPATRIATE (a novella) . In 2015, Buzzfeed named him one of 32 Essential Asian American Writers. He has taught for Tin House, Kundiman, and One Story, among others.
