the art of the personal essay table of contents

Current Discussions

Popular covers.

Melvil Decimal System (DDC)

Lc classification.

The Art of the personal essay

An anthology from the classical era to the present, by phillip lopate.

• 5 Want to read
• 0 Currently reading
• 0 Have read

Preview Book

My Reading Lists:

Use this Work

Create a new list

My book notes.

My private notes about this edition:

Check nearby libraries

• Library.link

Buy this book

This edition doesn't have a description yet. Can you add one ?

Previews available in: English

Showing 1 featured edition. View all 1 editions?

Add another edition?

Book Details

Table of contents, edition notes.

"A Teachers & Writers Collaborative book."

Includes bibliographical references (p. [771]-777).

Classifications

The physical object, source records, community reviews (0).

• Created October 15, 2008
• 9 revisions

Wikipedia citation

Copy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?

• study guides
• lesson plans
• homework help

The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present Summary & Study Guide

The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present Summary & Study Guide Description

The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present by Phillip Lopate is a book that compiles dozens of essays from writers that come from different parts of the world and different eras in time. Each of these essays has been picked for their influence on the way the personal essay has evolved throughout history.

The book begins by looking at essay writers that were born around 3 A.D. and the way that their essays were written. The subjects and language style often make it easy to see how much different things have changed. The subjects by these authors will reflect the times and the culture. There is a man that talks about losing his young daughter and how he is sorry he will miss the funeral because he is in a distant place and cannot make it home in time. There is another author that talks about a temple that he has gone to. Sometimes these essays will contain information about daily life, such as public bathhouses. The next chapter in the book deals with only one author, Michel de Montaigne. There are several essays about Montaigne and he is commented on by other essay writers later on in the book as inspiration.

The book goes in chronological order from when the essayists were born in each chapter. The next chapter in the book focuses on "The Rise of the English Essay." While this chapter deals with essays that are easier to understand it is clear that the era in time is still much different from our own. In this chapter the writers include some that are grouped together, such as Addison and Steele, and Virginia Woolf and George Orwell.

As the book moves on it will look at other cultures and their contributions to the essay. These will include Japanese, Chinese, and German writers, and essayists from many other cultures. These essay writers will touch on things important in their cultures and lives and consequently it is difficult to relate to some of the issues they approach. Some of these authors endured many hardships such as persecution from the Nazis and false imprisonment for their outspoken views.

The final chapter in the book deals with American essay writers and their effect on the personal essay. The subjects talked about in this chapter are much easier for the average person to relate to since they are issues we still deal with today. Their subjects include racial issues, political issues, the effect we are having on the environment and many others.

Read more from the Study Guide

FOLLOW BOOKRAGS:

The Art of the Personal Essay

Nonfiction | Essay Collection | Adult | Published in 1994

Send me an email reminder

By submitting, you agree to receive donor-related emails from the Internet Archive. Your privacy is important to us. We do not sell or trade your information with anyone.

Internet Archive Audio

• Grateful Dead
• Old Time Radio
• 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
• Audio Books & Poetry
• Computers, Technology and Science
• Music, Arts & Culture
• News & Public Affairs
• Spirituality & Religion
• Radio News Archive

• Flickr Commons
• Occupy Wall Street Flickr
• NASA Images
• Solar System Collection
• Ames Research Center

• All Software
• Old School Emulation
• MS-DOS Games
• Historical Software
• Classic PC Games
• Software Library
• Kodi Archive and Support File
• Vintage Software
• CD-ROM Software
• CD-ROM Software Library
• Software Sites
• Tucows Software Library
• Shareware CD-ROMs
• Software Capsules Compilation
• CD-ROM Images
• ZX Spectrum
• DOOM Level CD

• Smithsonian Libraries
• FEDLINK (US)
• Lincoln Collection
• American Libraries
• Canadian Libraries
• Universal Library
• Project Gutenberg
• Children's Library
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Books by Language
• Additional Collections

• Prelinger Archives
• Democracy Now!
• Occupy Wall Street
• TV NSA Clip Library
• Animation & Cartoons
• Arts & Music
• Computers & Technology
• Cultural & Academic Films
• Ephemeral Films
• Sports Videos
• Videogame Videos
• Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

• Wayback Machine (iOS)
• Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

• Explore the Collections
• Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

• Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

The Art of the personal essay : an anthology from the classical era to the present

Bookreader item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

• Graphic Violence
• Explicit Sexual Content
• Hate Speech
• Misinformation/Disinformation
• Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
• Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

445 Previews

30 Favorites

Better World Books

DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

No suitable files to display here.

PDF access not available for this item.

IN COLLECTIONS

Uploaded by station64.cebu on January 10, 2022

SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

• Library Home
• Ask a Librarian
• ArticlesPlus

The Art of the personal essay : an anthology from the classical era to the present /

• Description
• Table of Contents

Similar Items

• Sei Shonagon
• Ou-Yang Hsiu
• Michel de Montaigne
• Abraham Cowley
• Addison & Steele
• Samuel Johnson
• Maria Edgeworth
• Charles Lamb
• William Hazlitt
• Robert Louis Stevenson
• Max Beerbohm
• G. K. Chesterton
• Virginia Woolf
• George Orwell
• Ivan Turgenev
• Junichiro Tanizaki
• Walter Benjamin
• Jorge Luis Borges
• Hubert Butler
• E. M. Cioran
• Roland Barthes
• Natalia Ginzburg
• Carlos Fuentes
• Wole Soyinka
• Sara Suleri
• Henry David Thoreau
• H. L. Mencken
• Robert Benchley
• James Thurber
• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• E. B. White
• M. F. K. Fisher
• Mary McCarthy
• Seymour Krim
• James Baldwin
• Adrienne Rich
• Edward Hoagland
• Wendell Berry
• Joan Didion
• Annie Dillard
• Richard Selzer
• Phillip Lopate
• Scott Russell Sanders
• Gayle Pemberton
• Richard Rodriguez.
• The essay at the limits : poetics, politics and form / Published: (2021)
• The Columbia anthology of Japanese essays : zuihitsu from the tenth to the twenty-first century / Published: (2014)
• The Chinese essay = [Ku chin san wen Ying i chi] / Published: (2000)
• The modern Mexican essay. by: Martínez, José Luis, 1918-2007 Published: (1965)
• Chinese classical prose : the eight masters of the Tʼang-Sung period : with notes and Chinese texts / Published: (1979)

• Literature & Fiction
• History & Criticism

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

The Art of the Personal Essay Hardcover – January 1, 1994

• Print length 777 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Doubleday
• Publication date January 1, 1994
• Dimensions 6.75 x 2 x 9.5 inches
• ISBN-10 0385422989
• ISBN-13 978-0385422987
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

From library journal, from the publisher.

"Packed with personality and beguiling first-person prose... of reminders of the perils and pleasures of the craft." -- The Wall Street Journal .

From the Inside Flap

From the back cover, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday (January 1, 1994)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 777 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385422989
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385422987
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 2 x 9.5 inches
• #497 in Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism (Books)
• #515 in Rhetoric (Books)
• #1,925 in Essays (Books)

About the author

Phillip lopate.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 73% 13% 8% 0% 5% 73%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 73% 13% 8% 0% 5% 13%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 73% 13% 8% 0% 5% 8%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 73% 13% 8% 0% 5% 0%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 73% 13% 8% 0% 5% 5%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the essays interesting and helpful. They say the book is a wonderful read and works well for readers and writers alike. Readers describe the collection as outstanding, excellent, and classic. They also mention the stories are entertaining and show the evolution of their perceptions. Overall, customers say the book provides good value for money. However, some customers report issues with the Kindle content being unreadable and poorly formatted.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the essays interesting and helpful. They say it's an excellent resource for those studying writing and the essay form can be used to perfection. Readers also mention the book is perfect for short essay lovers and the introductions are insightful.

"...writing teacher, recommended this book to me as the most essential volume on the personal essay . I could not agree more...." Read more

"The introduction itself is invaluable. The author gives an excellent overview of the personal essay as a genre -- how the essay is put together, why..." Read more

" Wonderful writing in the personal essay format by writers from Seneca to Thurber, from Montaigne to Orwell, on subjects that are all over the map...." Read more

"Covers a lot of ground; informative and helpful." Read more

Customers find the book wonderful, enjoyable, and timely. They say it works well for readers and writers alike. Readers also mention the book will make them better writers and readers.

"...The book works well for readers and writers alike ...." Read more

"... A reading treat , all the way through." Read more

"...It has the story's I need so it works well " Read more

"...I didn't read the whole thing, only some selections, but it was a good read ." Read more

Customers find the collection outstanding, excellent, and classic. They say the essays are brilliant.

"A classic anthology -- read the essays from cover to cover or pick through them by author or subject...." Read more

"This anthology is perfect for short essay lovers. So much great stuff in here !..." Read more

"...Essays, by the way, are classic and brilliant." Read more

" Good collection . Lots to digest so take your time!" Read more

Customers find the stories in the book insightful, interesting, and entertaining. They appreciate the organization of the stories by author, theme, or subject.

"...essay is put together, why it works, what makes it so charming and interesting ...." Read more

"...It's very insightful. Very interesting . Highly recommend it." Read more

"... Stories are also organized in beginning by author, theme or subject." Read more

"...Lots of big names in here. Excellent writing, wonderful stories ." Read more

Customers find the book insightful and funny. They say it shows the evolution of our perceptions and is relevant to modern times.

"...is fast becoming one of my favorite forms - it is short, funny, and insightful . I highly recommend this book to ANYONE." Read more

"...of how culture has progressed over the centuries, and shows the evolution our perceptions ...." Read more

"...would also enjoy the creativity, differing styles and relevance of most to modern times ." Read more

"Pleasant. Insightful . Expansive. An absolute joy...." Read more

Customers find the book interesting and say it's a good price.

"...Besides that, the essays are interesting to read and the book was a good price . Despite purchasing this book used, the condition was good, too." Read more

"It's very affordable ! For my Essay Writing class it's perfect and the book itself is great! I love the essays they are very entertaining!" Read more

" Excellent almost new book for small cost and arrived quickly too!" Read more

" Perfect sale ..." Read more

Customers find the content unreadable. They mention the symbols, font sizes, and poorly formatted text make the index largely unreadable. Readers also mention the book is extensive and wordy.

"...It's extensive, sometimes wordy , yet if used only for sections its perfect. It's very insightful. Very interesting. Highly recommend it." Read more

"...The index is marred by blotches of white space making the index largely unreadable . There are other problems such as pages have been" Read more

"...DO NOT BUY THE KINDLE VERSION OF THIS BOOK, IT IS UNREADABLE . The format is off, there are strange symbols etc...." Read more

"...book for an upcoming vacation, but unfortunately the Kindle version is completely unreadable ." Read more

Reviews with images

Kindle edition is impossible to read

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices