The Marginalian
The Marginalian

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What Now? Advice on Writing and Life from Ann Patchett
What Now? Advice on Writing and Life from Ann Patchett

“Coming back is the thing that enables you to see how all the dots in your life are connected.”

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Order to the Chaos of Life: Isabel Allende on Writing
Order to the Chaos of Life: Isabel Allende on Writing

“Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.”

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What Makes a Great Essay?
What Makes a Great Essay?

“The things that are most lasting and edifying are the things that lodge in the brain most deeply, which means they are emotional, enjoyable, and fun.”

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Why We Write: Mary Karr on the Magnetism and Madness of the Written Word
Why We Write: Mary Karr on the Magnetism and Madness of the Written Word

“Be willing to be a child and be the Lilliputian in the world of Gulliver.”

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F. Scott Fitzgerald on the Secret to Great Writing: Letters of Advice to a Friend’s Teenage Daughter and to His Own
F. Scott Fitzgerald on the Secret to Great Writing: Letters of Advice to a Friend’s Teenage Daughter and to His Own

“Nothing any good isn’t hard.”

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Inside Kurt Cobain’s Letters and Journals
Inside Kurt Cobain’s Letters and Journals

“No amount of effort can save you from oblivion.”

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The Quicksand of Existence: Sylvia Plath on Life, Death, Hope, and Happiness
The Quicksand of Existence: Sylvia Plath on Life, Death, Hope, and Happiness

“The present is forever, and forever is always shifting, flowing, melting. This second is life. And when it is gone it is dead.”

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An Addict of Experience: Sylvia Plath’s Sexual Repression and Class Struggle
An Addict of Experience: Sylvia Plath’s Sexual Repression and Class Struggle

A journey into “what compelled Plath to peek over the edge and stare into the abyss of the human psyche.”

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Stephen King on Gun Control and Violence
Stephen King on Gun Control and Violence

“Assault weapons will remain readily available to crazy people until the powerful pro-gun forces … accept responsibility, recognizing that responsibility is not the same as culpability.”

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Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating

“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work.”

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