Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy,
I have a hot crush on the em dash. What does my need to stuff—while simultaneously fracturing—my sentences—with the meandering, the explanatory, the discursive, the perhaps not-entirely-necessary—say about me?
—Cheryl Strayed
Have you ever wished there were an advice columnist for writers, but one who didn’t take things so damned seriously? This unique writing guide pairs questions sent in by top contemporary essayists with hilariously witty answers and essays from acclaimed author Dinty W. Moore. Phillip Lopate asks for advice on writing about your ex without sounding like an ass, Julianna Baggott worries that to be a great writer you must drink like a fish, and Roxane Gay asks whether it’s kosher to write about writing.
Taking advantage of all the tools available to today’s personal essayist—egregious puns, embarrassing anecdotes, and cocktail napkins—Professor Moore answers these questions, and more, demystifying the world of nonfiction once and for all. With a tip of the hat to history’s most infamous essay—Montaigne’s “Of Cannibals”—this book provides rollicking relief for writers in distress.
". . . a guide to writing essays that is both brilliantly instructive and wonderfully entertaining. . . . Highly recommended for writers and anyone who loves to laugh out loud while they read."
-- Library Journal (starred review)
"[Moore's] witty and disarming new book is framed as an advice column for accomplished writers. . . He is fun to read (don’t miss Mr Plimpton’s Revenge: A Google Maps Essay, in Which George Plimpton Delivers My Belated and Well-Deserved Comeuppance). And he sneaks in answers so we are left with a touch of wisdom as well as laughter."
-- BBC.com
"Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy is Moore at his best. It’s witty but also substantial, and the conversations between Moore and his interlocutors get to the heart of what makes the essay such a compelling form: its capacity to render, on the page, the human experience."
-- The Rumpus
". . . the book as a whole will leave you feeling educated, amused, and perhaps even inspired."
-- The A.V. Club
"Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy is an enjoyable read. . . Its witty, modest tone belies the artistry of the essays contained, which are exemplars of the short form."
-- Shelf Awareness
