Comforts of the Abyss: The Art of Persona Writing

Poet Schultz (My Dyslexia) delves into the written expression of real emotion in this eloquent guide to “persona writing,” or developing a narrative voice and viewpoint different from one’s own. Doing so, he writes, makes it possible to articulate difficult feelings and can provide a shield from the “shitbird,” Schultz’s term for one’s sense of doubt and self-hatred. Key to his program is understanding that “making a successful poem or story is a process of trial and error, and that disappointment and confusion are important parts of the process” and doing “exercises in selfhood” such as writing a letter to one’s “most pronounced antagonist.” His tips are solid, and much of the book consists of rich anecdotes about writers he knew: Schultz recounts the time he played a game of chicken with Norman Mailer to see who would come closest to jumping off a cliff (Schultz won; Mailer grabbed him at the last minute and pulled him back), and there’s a story about Elizabeth Bishop cutting a paper bird out of newspaper at a party in San Francisco, setting it on fire, and watching it fly through the air. This intimate account is sure to satisfy writers in the making. (June)