Vanity Fair’s Writers on Writers

Rich and delicious, this collection features 41 entertaining and informative pieces originally published in Vanity Fair by famous writers, including Elizabeth Bishop, Christopher Hitchens, and Jacqueline Woodson, analyzing other celebrated authors. Details of the subjects’ craft—schedules and routines—are discussed, along with insights into their art, and how the ups and downs of their lives influenced what they wrote. Each article starts with a career highlight, a big success, or a controversy. Next is a brief biography, often followed by some personal reminiscence. Readers learn of the authors’ families and early lives; what they overcame to achieve initial success; how they were critically received and how they influenced other writers; and, for many, the eventual decline of their skills and reputation. The selection of subjects is diverse, including W.H. Auden and Jacqueline Susann. Likewise, the analysis of the work ranges from formal literary criticism to appreciations of works initially dismissed as trash. The magazine’s writers are witty and insightful. James Wolcott on Jack Kerouac: He “committed suicide on the installment plan.” Michael Lewis on Tom Wolfe: “He moves back and forth like a bridge player, ruffing the city and the country against each other.” Each essay is reason enough to read (or reread) the subject’s work. (Oct.)