Henry Miller on Writing (New Directions Paperbook)

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Summary: NOT JUST FOR WRITERS
Review: A wonderful book, not just for writers or literature lovers, but for anyone interested in thinking and living creatively. Packed with well-worded wisdom. My favorite passages have become guidelines for my life. Some examples:

It should be borne in mind, of course, that there is an inevitable discrepancy between the truth of the matter and what one thinks, even about himself. • Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery. • I began in absolute chaos and darkness, in a bog or swamp of ideas and emotions and experiences. • Good and bad dropped out of my vocabulary. • I talk now about Reality, but I know there is no getting at it. • I eschew all clear cut interpretations: with increasing simplification the mystery heightens. • What I know tends to become more and more unstable. • I find there is plenty of room in the world for everybody. • One can only go forward by going backward and then sideways and then up and then down. • My charts and plans are the slenderest sort of guides. • Understanding is not a piercing of the mystery, but an acceptance of it, a living blissfully with it, in it, through it and by it. • Every line and word is vitally connected with my life, my life only, be it in the form of deed, event, fact, thought, emotion, desire, evasion, frustration, dream, revery, vagary, even the unfinished nothings which float listlessly in the brain like the snapped filaments of a spider's web. • I had to learn to think, feel and see in a totally new fashion, in an uneducated way, in my own way, which is the hardest thing in the world.

Rating:
Summary: An Unexpected Treat!
Review: If you read Henry Miller, you are well aware that his use of language is both poetic and direct. He does little apologizing, and this book follows that philosophy. The book is a gathering of previously and not previously published works concerning the art of writing. It is edited by Thomas H. Moore, who worked with Miller to complete it.

Throughout the pages we see Miller in familiar lighting as he stresses those things about his craft that are most important to him. We also read how Miller was sometimes so absorbed in his work that he couldn't get through a meal with scribbling out pages between bites. To that end, Miller gives his greatest lesson to would-be writers - Dedication and discipline are the pillars on which the writer lives. Without those, one merely writes. He even lists "Commandments" in part of the text, wherein he describes the requirements that he placed on himself. These include, basically, writing without bounds, living fully, and placing the art of writing above friends and hobbies. It is this reinforcement that shows how hard Miller struggled to maintain his place as a writer. He reminded himself to work on one piece at a time.

There is a section entitled "Obscenity and the Law of Reflection," and it defines Miller's view on what obscenity is why it cannot truly be debated or defined. All of this is treasured reading for the Miller fan. There are many fine chapters covering the various aspects of the life and the profession of Henry Miller. It is extremely well written and organized. If you enjoy Miller, this book will only enhance your opinions. If you do not care for his work, perhaps this book will explain why Miller chose to write what he had inside of him and how he shaped his style to fit his soul. Along with this novel, I'd like to recommend another Amazon pick, THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez, which is about a struggling would-be author -- a personal novel obviously influenced by the ideas and life of Henry Miller.

Rating:
Summary: A curious book
Review: One thing you probably want to know about this book is that it is actually a compendium of excerpts from his other pieces (mostly), so to a Miller junkie there's very little new in it. An essay on writing that is not cut out of anything else is available in another book of his (The Wisdom of the Heart?) so you might want to go for that one instead of the "On Writing" book. Overall, as always, Miller is passionate, opinionated, and if you've never read his whole oeuvre -- or have an interest specifically in his thoughts about writing squeezed out and presented separately -- this may prove an interesting collection.