Reviews for The Life Writing Class

The average rating for The Life Writing Class based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-02-25 00:00:00 Jasper Mccrea Though I was not born in Arkansas, as was Reed, I've lived and worked in the state on and off for 34 years. I find his descriptions of Arkansas folk and attitudes familiar. He is a master stylist; I love his similes and metaphors ("A winter storm in the mountains comes stiffly, moving as an old man comes up a rocky trail. It takes its time. It creeps into every corner of every house and barn. ") I love his observations of country life and his experiences of dog days, wood cutting, steer killing, etc., on his farm near the town of Hogeye. Reed wrote his University of Missouri master's thesis about the establishment of the Malden (Mo.) Press. I often wished that I could have talked with him about that since I, working as a printer in Senath, Mo., made up the first front page of that paper. Unfortunately he died Dec. 10, 2017.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-03-13 00:00:00 Candice Barber I recently enjoyed the author's oral history of London and tracked down this earlier book, an oral history of people living in an English village. It was lovely and soothing and by God I learned a tremendous amount about how to farm blackcurrants. My only problem -- and I don't know how this happened -- was that I could NOT stop picturing the interviewees as the regulars in a Christopher Guest mockumentary. Michael McKean as the elderly farmer who can list 30 types of peaches! Catherine O'Hara as the jolly female priest! Eugene Levy as the Polish immigrant! Parker Posey as the B&B owner who leads tourists on brisk country walks! I sure hope this isn't a trend for me, because Hilary Mantel's new book just got published and I do not want to imagine Jennifer Coolidge as Ann Boleyn.