- Is this a writing manual or a collection of essays?
- It is a collection of Cather's essays and letters on writing, not a step-by-step guide. Read it for her thinking on craft, not for exercises.
- Do I need to have read Cather's novels first?
- It helps. She refers to her own fiction and to writers she admired, so the essays land better if you know at least one of her novels.
- Does it cover her personal life?
- Only lightly. The focus is on writing and literature, not biography.
- Is this the same as her collected letters?
- No. It is a short selection of her writing about craft and other authors, not a full correspondence.
- Is the 1988 University of Nebraska Press edition the standard one?
- It is the widely circulated paperback edition of this collection and is the one most readers encounter.
- Where is the Willa Cather on Writing (Paperback, 1988) cheapest?
- At Target, for $20.99, as of our latest check.