{"product_id":"acetylene-torch-songs-writing-true-stories-to-ignite-the-soul-paperback-softback-9781496235756","title":"Acetylene Torch Songs; Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul (Paperback \/ softback) 9781496235756","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eWriting True Stories to Ignite the Soul\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eSue William Silverman (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781496235756\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 1 January 2024\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e266 pages, 3 figures, 5 appendixes\u003cbr\u003e21.6 x 14 x 2.1 cm, 0.354 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"I've read a fair amount of creative nonfiction craft books, recommended many of them, and taught many of them, but none have felt so much like a craft class as Sue William Silverman's \u003ci\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/i\u003e.\"-Whitney (Walters) Jacobson, \u003ci\u003eSplit Rock Review\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/i\u003e reminded me of why I write and motivated me to rebirth some of the more confessional pieces I'd shelved. It made me not just want to be a better writer, but to do the kind of soul work that creates 'writing that burns through, no matter what it finds.'\"-Lisa Cooper Ellison, \u003ci\u003eHippocampus\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"Our obsessions haunt us, and writing helps us to contend with what Silverman calls our 'shadowy ghosts,' the darker aspects of ourselves. . . . These lessons and examples [in \u003ci\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/i\u003e] show how we can take what keeps us up at night and shape it into something that not only longer controls us, but can potentially help others to heal.\"-\u003ci\u003eLilith Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“This wonderful book is unique in my experience: writing advice not from Olympus but from a kind, wise, human guide who has learned how to translate her experience into art and who shows us how we can, too. Beginners and veteran writers alike have much to learn from Silverman.”-Clifford Thompson, author of \u003ci\u003eWhat It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“Silverman reclaims and honors the disparaged term ‘confessional,’ encouraging writers to use their passions, hauntings, and experiences as fuel for quality nonfiction. Snapping with bright fire, this new craft guide is also a guide for the soul: audacious, pulsing with life, and sure to inspire.”-Sonya Huber, author of \u003ci\u003eVoice First: A Writer’s Manifesto\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“\u003ci\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/i\u003e is precisely what you’d expect from the wondrous Sue William Silverman. This is no mere manual but an essential lodestar for artists of nonfiction, a book with a vision that will be a game-changer for writers who wish to do as Silverman herself does so well: to daringly reveal the ecstasies and darknesses that dwell at the hub of us.”-William Giraldi, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Hero’s Body\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAmerican Audacity\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“Sue William Silverman’s \u003ci\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/i\u003e is a gift for creative nonfiction writers, and a guiding light: offering a holistic and hands-on approach to writing our memories, our obsessions, and ourselves. This is a gorgeous book of body and mind, of heart and soul. In the truest sense it’s also a torch: one we might carry with us as we write, as we dig into the dark corners of our lives, making our stories burn bright.”-Melissa Faliveno, author of \u003ci\u003eTomboyland\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“\u003ci\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/i\u003e will burn its way through everything you thought you knew about craft and seduce you into a spell of curiosity and revelation. This is one of the best books on writing truth as art I’ve ever read. From now on it will be by my side as I open up the world of memoir writing to my students.”-Linda Joy Myers, founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers and award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eDon’t Call Me Mother\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eSilver Medal for the 2024 IPPY Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At times writers-from the unpublished to jaded lifers-need a fire lit under them to pursue the complex work of self-exploration. \u003ci\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/i\u003e provides that spark for memoirists and essayists seeking mentor-based instruction and inspiration.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Drawing on twenty-five years of teaching and mentoring writers, Sue William Silverman stresses practice over theory. She encourages craftiness as well as craft and urges writers to embark on emotional quests in pursuit of their art. \u003ci\u003eAcetylene Torch Songs\u003c\/i\u003e uniquely illustrates how the writer’s imaginative spirit comes alive on the page through metaphor, literary masks, sensory memories, voice, obsessions, and more. This holistic approach to writing emphasizes how the creative process brings together the heart, mind, and senses to illuminate the human condition through language. Featuring a personal essay in each chapter, Silverman uses her own work to model a specific concept or approach, demonstrating how obsessions, secrets, and memories can burn on the page.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Through guided prompts, worksheets, checklists, publishing advice, personal essays, and strategies, Silverman encourages writers to find the confidence and courage to write stories that reach beyond the page through their intimacy, social engagement, and honesty.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eThe Hammer Overture\u003cbr\u003e Part 1. Lighting the Flame\u003cbr\u003e 1. “\u003cbr\u003eBody and Soul”\u003cbr\u003e: Writing Fiery, Holistic Prose\u003cbr\u003e 2. “\u003cbr\u003eThanks for the Memory”\u003cbr\u003e: Bringing the Past to Life\u003cbr\u003e 3. “\u003cbr\u003eGhost Riders in the Sky”\u003cbr\u003e: Writing What Haunts You\u003cbr\u003e 4. “\u003cbr\u003eBehind the Mask”\u003cbr\u003e: On Revealing the Sequined Self\u003cbr\u003e 5. “\u003cbr\u003eVoices inside My Head”\u003cbr\u003e: The Multitudinous Sounds of Voice\u003cbr\u003e 6. “\u003cbr\u003eThe Long and Winding Road”\u003cbr\u003e: Some Thoughts on Narrative Structure\u003cbr\u003e 7. “\u003cbr\u003eCome Together”\u003cbr\u003e: Strategies to Craft an Essay Collection\u003cbr\u003e Part 2. Feeling the Flame\u003cbr\u003e 8. “\u003cbr\u003eRespect”\u003cbr\u003e: Confessional Writing as Resistance\u003cbr\u003e 9. “\u003cbr\u003eYou Don’\u003cbr\u003et Own Me”\u003cbr\u003e: On Writing Controversial or Disturbing Literature\u003cbr\u003e 10. “\u003cbr\u003eDo You Want to Know a Secret?”\u003cbr\u003e: I Love Confessional Writing\u003cbr\u003e 11. “\u003cbr\u003eLook through Any Window”\u003cbr\u003e: Memoir with a View\u003cbr\u003e Bonus Tracks\u003cbr\u003e Sue’\u003cbr\u003es EZ Rules to Write By\u003cbr\u003e On Trifles: Things You Might Not Think to Write About\u003cbr\u003e AfterWord\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Appendix 1. Deconstructed Essay\u003cbr\u003e Appendix 2. Additional Writing Prompts\u003cbr\u003e Appendix 3. Strategies to Write a Query Letter\u003cbr\u003e Appendix 4. Two Sample Book Proposals\u003cbr\u003e Appendix 5. A List of Useful Websites\u003cbr\u003e Brief Notes on Chapter Titles\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52681820307736,"sku":"9781496235756","price":17.58,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/acetylene-torch-songs-writing-true-stories-to-ignite-the-soul-paperback-softback-9781496235756","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}