Maps of the Imagination by Peter Turchi
I am enjoying the heck out of this book. Not only does it combine disciplines and subjects of interest to writer and reader, it talks in unique ways about form in fiction. This is especially useful after you acquire a certain level of mastery, by which I mean you might pick up a regular writing book every once in awhile as a kind of refresher, but there are few books on craft specifically for writers in mid- or late career. Maps of the Imagination isn’t meant to be that book, either, but that turns out to be a tangential benefit of reading it. Some images below the cut.
January 10, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Ooo, that looks like a wonderful book. *want*
January 10, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Jessica–I think with the way you think about space, and do the art as well as the fiction, that you’d absolutely love it!
January 10, 2009 at 8:59 pm
This is an absolutely brilliant book, IMHO. It gets all kinds of effective mileage out of the basic metaphor of book as map, both being projections of a world. One of my favorite things about it is how good Turchi is at appreciating the different styles writers use. It’s the furthest thing possible from a one-size-fits-all approach.
And as your photos prove, it’s beautifully produced. I believe it was honored at some point in a book design contest. I sold a ton of these back when the hardcover first came out; it’s a fantastic gift for a writer or a would-be writer or an English major or anyone at all who considers herself bookish. The only people who wouldn’t buy it were people who simply insist on waiting for paperback. With this one, unfortunately, it took so long that inflation bit them in the behind–I think the paperback price is only a few dollars off the original hardcover cost.
January 10, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I am ordering this book immediately, for all the ways that it seems to fit exactly what I’m planning for the next Shared Worlds.
January 10, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Awesome, Will!!!
And, James, thanks for the additional context. I always value your perspective as a bookseller and reader.
Jeff
January 14, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Oh, most definitely agreed. This was one of the best (and oddest) books that I managed to fit into the bibliography for my master’s thesis at MIT. It still has a place of pride among the reference books in my office.
February 6, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Hey guys — Turchi lives about 90 miles from Shared Worlds. He directs the Warren Wilson MFA program and is a verycompelling speaker.
February 6, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Turchi was the MFA director when I was at Warren Wilson. He’s moved on to Arizona, where he is kicking some serious ass.
This book is fantastic, but so is Pete. One of the smartest, funniest, more engaged writers I know. Very generous. Very inspiring.