Paperback : £12.35
Firecracker Award Finalist
Poets & Writers "Best Books for Writers" selection
Literary Hub "Best Books about Books" selection
Image: Art, Faith, Mystery "Top Ten of the Year" selection
In an essay entitled "Spirit and Vision" Melissa Pritchard poses the question: "Why write?" Her answer reverberates throughout A Solemn Pleasure, presenting an undeniable case for both the power of language and the nurturing constancy of the writing life. Whether describing the deeply interior imaginative life required to write fiction, searching for the lost legacy of American literature as embodied by Walt Whitman, being embedded with a young female GI in Afghanistan, traveling with Ethiopian tribes, or revealing the heartrending story of her informally adopted son William, a former Sudanese child slave, this is nonfiction vividly engaged with the world. In these fifteen essays, Pritchard shares her passion for writing and storytelling that educates, honors, and inspires.
Melissa Pritchard is the author of, most recently, the novel Palmerino and the short story collection The Odditorium. Her books have received the Flannery O'Connor, Janet Heidinger Kafka, and Carl Sandburg awards and two of her short fiction collections were New York Times Notable Book and Editors' Choice selections. Pritchard has worked as a journalist in Afghanistan, India, and Ethiopia, and her nonfiction has appeared in various publications, including O, The Oprah Magazine, Arrive, Chicago Tribune, and Wilson Quarterly. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
Firecracker Award Finalist
Poets & Writers "Best Books for Writers" selection
Literary Hub "Best Books about Books" selection
Image: Art, Faith, Mystery "Top Ten of the Year" selection
In an essay entitled "Spirit and Vision" Melissa Pritchard poses the question: "Why write?" Her answer reverberates throughout A Solemn Pleasure, presenting an undeniable case for both the power of language and the nurturing constancy of the writing life. Whether describing the deeply interior imaginative life required to write fiction, searching for the lost legacy of American literature as embodied by Walt Whitman, being embedded with a young female GI in Afghanistan, traveling with Ethiopian tribes, or revealing the heartrending story of her informally adopted son William, a former Sudanese child slave, this is nonfiction vividly engaged with the world. In these fifteen essays, Pritchard shares her passion for writing and storytelling that educates, honors, and inspires.
Melissa Pritchard is the author of, most recently, the novel Palmerino and the short story collection The Odditorium. Her books have received the Flannery O'Connor, Janet Heidinger Kafka, and Carl Sandburg awards and two of her short fiction collections were New York Times Notable Book and Editors' Choice selections. Pritchard has worked as a journalist in Afghanistan, India, and Ethiopia, and her nonfiction has appeared in various publications, including O, The Oprah Magazine, Arrive, Chicago Tribune, and Wilson Quarterly. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
I.
A Room in London
The writer lives for two months in London, in another writer’s
cramped but atmospheric refuge.
Spirit and Vision
In this essay, the question “why write?” is posed and by way of an
answer, Walt Whitman is shown to be a writer of compassionate
witness, in contrast to the profit-based pressures of the
marketplace.
From the Deep South to the Desert South: An Epiphyte’s
Confession
Aware of the power of region in fiction, the writer wonders if her
own bland, semi-erased origins will be an obstacle to her literary
ambitions.
On Kaspar Hauser
In the British Library, composing a fictional account of the
German-born feral child, Kaspar Hauser, the writer comes to see
books as devotional objects, holy histories, reliquaries of the
human mind.
II.
Time and Biology: On the Threshold of the Sacred
How inescapable pressures of temporality and mortality upon any
writer’s work can be met with cultivated courage and an
undiminished passion for expressing emotional truths.
Elephant in the Dark
In this essay, an argument is made for “point of view” as being one
of the most critical, early decisions to be made by the writer when
embarking on a new story.
The Gift of Warwick
A powerful, bittersweet arc of community can emerge in a writing
workshop over weeks or months, attesting to attachments formed by a
common vulnerability of writers and their shared passion for
language and story.
III.
Doxology
The origins and history of the dachshund lead into the author’s own
love for her miniature male dachshund, Simon.
A Solemn Pleasure
When the writer reluctantly travels to a writing residency in a
castle outside of Edinburgh, Scotland, weeks after her mother’s
death, her grief is given perspective when she discovers a cemetery
of ancient headstones, each inscription a compressed, often tragic,
story.
A Graven Space
In this reflective essay on Georgia O’Keefe, a question emerges: is
it possible we idealize the lives of renowned artists in an attempt
to unconsciously avoid responsibility for the success or failure of
our own creativity?
Decomposing Articles of Faith
Here is an unorthodox, even heretical, response to familiar phrases
of Catholic prayer by the writer, herself an unorthodox, even
heretical, Catholic.
IV.
Finding Ashton
In this piece, the writer embeds with six female soldiers in
Panjshir Province, Afghanistan, and forms an unexpected attachment
to the youngest, Senior Airman Ashton Goodman, who will be killed
by an IED outside Bagram Air Field four months later.
“Still, God Helps You”: Memories of a Sudanese Child Slave
The harrowing story of a Sudanese boy captured from his village and
enslaved by the Janjaweed, only to escape years later into still
more harrowing circumstances, as told to the writer by William Akoi
Mawwin, now the writer’s informally adopted son.
Circle of Friends
Bereft and directionless, in quiet crisis, the writer travels with
photographers Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith to the remote Omo
River region of Ethiopia, gaining an unexpected perspective on
aging and loneliness.
V.
On Bibliomancy, Anthropodermic Bibliopegy and the Eating Papers
An essay on books, focusing on the use of books for divination, on
rare but extant books bound in human skin, and on the ancient
healing practice of eating words written on paper.
Co-op available
Significant bound galley printing for media and booksellers.
Additional eGalley distribution to media, booksellers, and
librarians through Edelweiss.
National print, public radio, and online campaigns, targeting
coverage on nationally broadcast public radio programs; major daily
newspapers; popular magazines (particularly women’s magazines);
literary magazines (New Yorker, Harper’s, etc.); travel magazines;
literary journals; and popular and literary websites (Brian
Pickings, Flavorwire, etc.).
Tour to include bookstore appearances in Phoenix, AZ; Tempe, AZ;
Tucson, AZ; Washington, DC; Boston, MA; New York, NY; and
Philadelphia, PA and at AWP in Minneapolis, MN
Simultaneous eBook publication and promotion
Postcards available
Academic marketing plans include Consortium Required Reading
newsletter advertising and outreach to prominent MFA and journalism
programs
Giveaways through Goodreads and LibraryThing
Blurbs possible from Leslie Jamison, Roxane Gay, David Shields, and
many others
Promotion through the author’s website (www.melissapritchard.com)
and BLP’s social media networks and website (www.blpress.org)
Marketing and publicity efforts supported by Molly Mikolowski of A
Literary Light
Melissa Pritchard is the author of eight books of fiction,
including the novel Palmerino and the story collection The
Odditorium, as well as the essay collection A Solemn Pleasure
(forthcoming from Bellevue Literary Press in 2015). Among other
honors, her books have received the Flannery O’Connor, Janet
Heidinger Kafka, and Carl Sandburg awards and two of her short
fiction collections were New York Times Notable Book and Editors’
Choice selections. Pritchard has worked as a journalist in
Afghanistan, India, and Ethiopia, and her nonfiction has appeared
in various publications, including O, The Oprah Magazine, Arrive,
Chicago Tribune, and Wilson Quarterly. She lives in Phoenix,
Arizona.
Foreword contributor Bret Anthony Johnston is the author of the
best-selling novel Remember Me Like This, a Barnes & Noble Discover
selection and New York Times Editors’ Choice, and Corpus Christi:
Stories. He’s also the editor of Naming the World: And Other
Exercises for the Creative Writer. He is the Paul and Catherine
Buttenweiser Director of Creative Writing at Harvard University.
Praise for A Solemn Pleasure
Firecracker Award Finalist
Poets & Writers “Best Books for Writers” selection
Literary Hub “Best Books about Books” selection
Image: Art, Faith, Mystery “Top Ten of the Year” selection
Publishers Weekly “Top 10: Literary Biographies, Essays &
Criticism”
Foreword Reviews “Books for Grads” selection
“Altogether magnificent. . . . [The essay “Spirit and Vision”]
bears that cynicism-disarming quality of a commencement address and
enchants the psyche like an incantation. . . . [Pritchard] ends the
piece like one might a commencement address—and if this were one,
it would certainly be among the greatest commencement addresses of
all time. . . . Complement A Solemn Pleasure, seriously pleasurable
in its entirety, with Susan Sontag’s advice to writers, Virginia
Woolf on writing and self-doubt, and Cheryl Strayed’s no-nonsense
wisdom on the craft.” —Brain Pickings
“Pritchard’s essay collection is one to keep by your bedside to
read again and again. Like Lewis Hyde’s The Gift, Pritchard plumbs
the depths of why we write, in order to uncover the important
reasons we need to write. . . . A Solemn Pleasure is a treasure of
a book. Keep it nearby, because in the darkest depths when you are
confronted with the beautiful pain of the blank page, Pritchard
will remind you how words can create light. . . . And know that
this book will give you super powers.” —Atticus Review
“Invite[s] underlining, re-reading, and reading aloud. . . .
Pritchard [is] a beautifully descriptive stylist and deeply
committed artist. . . . A Solemn Pleasure is not only a great way
for readers to meet [her], but an excellent choice to mark the
launch of Bellevue Literary Press’ new series, The Art of the
Essay.” —Rain Taxi Review of Books
“Elegant, funny. . . . Pritchard’s own prose embodies her
conviction that great writing involves both imagining the inner
life of its subjects and a `bearing witness’ to the human condition
and the transcendent mystery that surrounds it.” —Image: Art,
Faith, Mystery
“Pritchard once again validates the assertion that all true art is
moral, as it instructs by seeking to improve life.” —World
Literature Today
“A spirited, intelligent, wide-ranging exploration of the joys,
frustrations, and trials of the life of the writer.” —Colorado
Review
“Ethically rich. . . . Pay attention to the surge of [Pritchard’s]
mind and the spiritual energy she demonstrates.” —Spirituality &
Practice
“As insightful as it is engaging. . . . Pritchard will make you
cry, think, and laugh; each essay is filled with wit and wisdom. .
. . A great read for writers, readers looking for enlightenment,
and those who savor nonfiction that explores the spiritual through
the everyday.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Moving. . . . Readers will treasure the book’s numerous memorable
moments.” —Publishers Weekly
“Heartfelt . . . bear[s] powerful witness to suffering, compassion,
and transcendence.” —Kirkus Reviews
“From grief to daily rituals to the shape of a dachshund, Pritchard
insightfully connects the most obscure of subjects to reveal gems
of truth about the human experience.” —Foreword Reviews
“Full of lovely sentences that often achieve an almost mystical,
spiritual power.” —NewPages
“A fine, delicate essayist. . . . Pritchard’s writing is
inspiring.” —Literary Hub
“Gorgeous and moving. . . . Each of these essays confirms that to
write is to think and feel, to take part in the profound and sacred
act of witness. Read together—and the book is so arresting that
many readers will finish it in a single sitting—the essays amount
to a clear and irrefutable mandate for empathy.” —BRET ANTHONY
JOHNSTON, director of Creative Writing at Harvard University,
author of Remember Me Like This, and editor of Naming the World:
And Other Exercises for the Creative Writer (from the Foreword)
“`Great writers are witnesses to the spirit of their age,’ Melissa
Pritchard declares. And in her splendid collection of essays, A
Solemn Pleasure, she bears witness to matters great and small, from
the quotidian joys of a borrowed room in London to the life and
example of Georgia O'Keeffe to the plight of the Lost Boys of
Sudan. Art is for her `a form of active prayer,’ which leads her to
journey both inward and outward, notably to Afghanistan, where the
consequences of the war on terror become tragically clear. This is
the spirit of our age, gracefully rendered in Pritchard’s essays,
which will stand the test of time.” —CHRISTOPHER MERRILL, director
of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa and
author of The Tree of the Doves: Ceremony, Expedition, War
“Melissa Pritchard has written an incredible book that is an
important testament to the role of the writer as society’s moral
and spiritual compass. In A Solemn Pleasure, Pritchard meshes the
personal with the political in a bold and deeply honest composition
that will make every reader a more compassionate human being. This
book is written from the heart. It will refresh your passions and
inspire the deepest yearnings of your soul. I found myself
underlining, taking notes, and feeling inspired to write.” —JEN
PERCY, author of Demon Camp
Praise for Melissa Pritchard
“A writer at the height of her powers.” —Oprah.com
“Dreamy and delightful.” —NPR’s All Things Considered
“Wildly imaginative. . . . Endearingly quirky.” —Glamour
“Precise and lucid.” —New York Times Book Review
“Pritchard polishes the strange and makes it shine.” —LESLIE
JAMISON, San Francisco Chronicle
“One of our finest writers.” —ANNIE DILLARD
“Melissa Pritchard’s voice is completely her own.” —TAYARI
JONES
“I have admired Melissa Pritchard's writing for several years now
for its wisdom, its humble elegance, and its earthy comedy.” —RICK
MOODY
“Melissa Pritchard is a treasure.” —BRADFORD MORROW
“Melissa Pritchard’s prose, that darkly lyrical firmament, is
brightened by the dizzy luminous arrangement of her stars and
satellites, her great gifts to us: humor, irony, kindness,
brilliance.” —ANTONYA NELSON
“A writer of immense talent.” —PETER STRAUB
“No one is quite so brilliant at voicing the
all-but-impossible-to-track interior lives of the most complex
human beings as is Melissa Pritchard.” —BRAD WATSON
Praise for A Solemn Pleasure
Firecracker Award Finalist
Poets & Writers Best Books for Writers” selection
Literary Hub Best Books about Books” selection
Image: Art, Faith, Mystery Top Ten of the Year” selection
Publishers Weekly Top 10: Literary Biographies, Essays &
Criticism”
Foreword Reviews Books for Grads” selection
Altogether magnificent. . . . [The essay Spirit and Vision”]
bears that cynicism-disarming quality of a commencement address and
enchants the psyche like an incantation. . . . [Pritchard] ends the
piece like one might a commencement addressand if this were one,
it would certainly be among the greatest commencement addresses of
all time. . . . Complement A Solemn Pleasure, seriously pleasurable
in its entirety, with Susan Sontag’s advice to writers, Virginia
Woolf on writing and self-doubt, and Cheryl Strayed’s no-nonsense
wisdom on the craft.” Brain Pickings
Pritchard’s essay collection is one to keep by your bedside to
read again and again. Like Lewis Hyde’s The Gift, Pritchard plumbs
the depths of why we write, in order to uncover the important
reasons we need to write. . . . A Solemn Pleasure is a treasure of
a book. Keep it nearby, because in the darkest depths when you are
confronted with the beautiful pain of the blank page, Pritchard
will remind you how words can create light. . . . And know that
this book will give you super powers.” Atticus Review
Invite[s] underlining, re-reading, and reading aloud. . . .
Pritchard [is] a beautifully descriptive stylist and deeply
committed artist. . . . A Solemn Pleasure is not only a great way
for readers to meet [her], but an excellent choice to mark the
launch of Bellevue Literary Press’ new series, The Art of the
Essay.” Rain Taxi Review of Books
Elegant, funny. . . . Pritchard’s own prose embodies her
conviction that great writing involves both imagining the inner
life of its subjects and a bearing witness’ to the human condition
and the transcendent mystery that surrounds it.” Image: Art,
Faith, Mystery
Pritchard once again validates the assertion that all true art is
moral, as it instructs by seeking to improve life.” World
Literature Today
A spirited, intelligent, wide-ranging exploration of the joys,
frustrations, and trials of the life of the writer.” Colorado
Review
Ethically rich. . . . Pay attention to the surge of [Pritchard’s]
mind and the spiritual energy she demonstrates.” Spirituality &
Practice
As insightful as it is engaging. . . . Pritchard will make you
cry, think, and laugh; each essay is filled with wit and wisdom. .
. . A great read for writers, readers looking for enlightenment,
and those who savor nonfiction that explores the spiritual through
the everyday.” Library Journal (starred review)
Moving. . . . Readers will treasure the book’s numerous memorable
moments.” Publishers Weekly
Heartfelt . . . bear[s] powerful witness to suffering, compassion,
and transcendence.” Kirkus Reviews
From grief to daily rituals to the shape of a dachshund, Pritchard
insightfully connects the most obscure of subjects to reveal gems
of truth about the human experience.” Foreword Reviews
Full of lovely sentences that often achieve an almost mystical,
spiritual power.” NewPages
A fine, delicate essayist. . . . Pritchard’s writing is
inspiring.” Literary Hub
Gorgeous and moving. . . . Each of these essays confirms that to
write is to think and feel, to take part in the profound and sacred
act of witness. Read togetherand the book is so arresting that
many readers will finish it in a single sittingthe essays amount
to a clear and irrefutable mandate for empathy.” BRET ANTHONY
JOHNSTON, director of Creative Writing at Harvard University,
author of Remember Me Like This, and editor of Naming the World:
And Other Exercises for the Creative Writer (from the Foreword)
Great writers are witnesses to the spirit of their age,’ Melissa
Pritchard declares. And in her splendid collection of essays, A
Solemn Pleasure, she bears witness to matters great and small, from
the quotidian joys of a borrowed room in London to the life and
example of Georgia O'Keeffe to the plight of the Lost Boys of
Sudan. Art is for her a form of active prayer,’ which leads her to
journey both inward and outward, notably to Afghanistan, where the
consequences of the war on terror become tragically clear. This is
the spirit of our age, gracefully rendered in Pritchard’s essays,
which will stand the test of time.” CHRISTOPHER MERRILL, director
of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa and
author of The Tree of the Doves: Ceremony, Expedition, War
Melissa Pritchard has written an incredible book that is an
important testament to the role of the writer as society’s moral
and spiritual compass. In A Solemn Pleasure, Pritchard meshes the
personal with the political in a bold and deeply honest composition
that will make every reader a more compassionate human being. This
book is written from the heart. It will refresh your passions and
inspire the deepest yearnings of your soul. I found myself
underlining, taking notes, and feeling inspired to write.” JEN
PERCY, author of Demon Camp
Praise for Melissa Pritchard
A writer at the height of her powers.” Oprah.com
Dreamy and delightful.” NPR’s All Things Considered
Wildly imaginative. . . . Endearingly quirky.” Glamour
Precise and lucid.” New York Times Book Review
Pritchard polishes the strange and makes it shine.” LESLIE
JAMISON, San Francisco Chronicle
One of our finest writers.” ANNIE DILLARD
Melissa Pritchard’s voice is completely her own.” TAYARI
JONES
I have admired Melissa Pritchard's writing for several years now
for its wisdom, its humble elegance, and its earthy comedy.” RICK
MOODY
Melissa Pritchard is a treasure.” BRADFORD MORROW
Melissa Pritchard’s prose, that darkly lyrical firmament, is
brightened by the dizzy luminous arrangement of her stars and
satellites, her great gifts to us: humor, irony, kindness,
brilliance.” ANTONYA NELSON
A writer of immense talent.” PETER STRAUB
No one is quite so brilliant at voicing the
all-but-impossible-to-track interior lives of the most complex
human beings as is Melissa Pritchard.” BRAD WATSON
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