Thursday, 2nd September 2004, 7:49am
An opinion by:
Rascal
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
It's been a long time since I wrote a book review. I wanted to stop thinking about books in that way and just sink in and read them instead. None of that's changed, but Bird by Bird grabbed me by the shirtfront, obliged me to find a pen and scribble "Hey! This book is great!" It made me want to buy my own copy so that I could immediately lend it to the neighbour with whom I book-swap; then buy another copy so I could give it to a writer friend of mine.
The book is subtitled "Instructions on Writing and Life". Anne Lamott is an author and essayist who got into teaching creative writing workshops a long while back. Bird by Bird is written to be a kind of synthesis of Lamott's workshops, complete with teacher jokes and student response. It's like a postcard to all of us, since-you-couldn't-be-here, and I'm grateful Lamott thought to send it. I've never read a How-To book about writing before. Likewise I've never attended a creative writing workshop. A friend once told me that after taking one such workshop, she found she wasn't able to write a another word for a long time. I'm pretty sure that would happen to me too. This book could almost make me change my mind about that. Bird by Bird makes a convincing argument that if one loves to read and write, it can also be interesting to analyse and discuss (briefly) what makes for great fiction, memoir, essays and the like.
Even more engaging is the personal, open, anecdotal approach Lamott brings to her discourse. I liked to read about her horrors while she waits for her agent and editor to read her manuscript; her jealousy of another writer's success; her childhood as the daughter of a progressive, hippie-ish, writer in Marin County, California. On the back cover the Los Angeles Times is quoted, describing it as a warm, generous and hilarious guide through the writer's world. That's the best way to put it really--Bird by Bird is generous. It's not a How-To book so much as a one writer laying her experiences and beliefs for the rest of us.
Which brings me to another engaging aspect of Bird by Bird: the "rest of us" doesn't necessarily mean for writers only. This book has a message for anyone who's interested in the arts, other people, spirituality and living creatively. Here's a couple of thoughts from the book to show you what I mean. Under the chapter "Getting Started" Lamott writes,
My son Sam, at three and a half, had these keys to a set of plastic handcuffs, and one morning he intentionally locked himself out of the house. I was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper when I heard him stick his plastic keys into the doorknob and try to open the door. then I heard him say, "oh shit." my face widened, like the guy in Edvard Munch's scream. After a moment I got up and opened the door.
"Honey," I said, "what did you just say?"
"I said, 'Oh shit,'" he said.
"But honey, that's a naughty word. Both of us have absolutely got to stop using it. Okay?"
He hung his head for a moment, nodded, and said, "Okay, Mom." then he leaned forward and said confidentially, "but I'll tell you why I said 'shit.'" I said Okay, and he said, "Because of the fucking keys!"
Or here's another one, under the chapter "Writing a Present":
"Publication is not going to change your life or solve your problems. Publication will not make you more confident or more beautiful, and it will probably not make you any richer. There will be a very long buildup to publication day, and then the festivities will usually be over rather quickly. We will talk about all this at great length shortly. In the meantime, let's discuss some of the other reasons to write that may surprise a writer, even a writer who hasn't given up on getting published. There are arenas full of potential for rich reward, where your life and your sense of self and abundance really can be changed. (All of a sudden I cannot remember if we are allowed to use the word abundance in California anymore. I will have to get back to you on this.)"
Now who among us--writer, artist, actor, actuarial statistician--wouldn't enjoy reading this stuff? And if you don't write, but say, do scrapbooking, or something else, try replacing 'publication' and 'write' with your own terms. You'd probably find some pretty good advice in this book as a bonus. Sure, some of her practical tips (use index cards, write every day) may not be helpful to everyone. They certainly don't happen to jibe with my way of writing. But as young Sam might have said--so fucking what? With
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott has written us a present. This review is by way of being my thank-you note.
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