Ray Bradbury, an American literary icon, discusses being a writer and the writer's life in this collection of essays.
There is a lot of writing on writing. In addition to online sites such as Suite 101, there are magazines and anthologies, biographies and how-to-write books devoted to the craft. Some are very good; many are mediocre; a few are jewels. Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing is one of those jewels.
One of the 20th Century’s Best-Known Writers
Bradbury is one of the 20th century’s best-known and most prolific American writers. He has written novels, stories, essays, poems, and films (among other things), but his most well-known works may be The Martian Chronicles (a story collection about people colonizing Mars), and Fahrenheit 451 (a cautionary tale about a society in which all books are slated to be burned)
Chronicles the Writing Life
In Zen in the Art of Writing (Bantam Books, 1992), Bradbury chronicles his writing life and the writing life in general, in a series of essays. This slim volume can easily be read in a couple of hours, but it is a book you can return to for a little inspiration on your worst writing days.
Offers Tips for Writers
In the preface, Bradbury writes: “while our art cannot … save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it can revitalize us amidst it all.” He adds this warning, though. “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”
In his essay ‘The Joy of Writing’, Bradbury writes that zest and gusto are the most important characteristics of a writer, while in ‘Run Fast, Stand Still, Or, The Thing at the Top of the Stairs, Or, New Ghosts from Old Minds’ (how is that for a title!), he offers a great writer’s tool, list making. He explains that “I began to make lists of titles, to put down long lines of nouns. These lists were the provocations, finally, that caused my better stuff to surface.”
In ‘How to Keep and Feed a Muse’, Bradbury urges writers to read poetry because it “expands the senses and keeps them in prime condition.” He also suggests reading essays to keep the muse, or inspiration, fuelled.
Wise Writer with an Easy Style
Such wisdom comes from a wise writer. Bradbury is also a writer with an easy style – sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always inspiring. Zen in the Art of Writing is certainly worth reading by anyone bent on being part of this writing life and perhaps, one day, becoming as wise a writer as Ray Bradbury.
