NONFICTION

A Manner of Being: Writers on Their Mentors

by Jeff Parker
Univ. of Massachusetts. Dec. 2015. 320p. ed. by Annie Liontas & . photos. ISBN 9781625341815. $90; pap. ISBN 9781625341822. $28.95. LIT
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Liontas (Let Me Explain You) and Parker (English, Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst; Where Bears Roam the Streets) bring together a series of stories and vignettes by writers for writers on the power of mentorship and the myriad ways in which literary and nonliterary guides support, influence, encourage, and serve to provide much-needed reality checks. The included pieces are at times warm, insightful, and amusing, while always staying true to the spirit of the unique relationship between mentor and mentee. Divided into eight sections, the stories fall into categories dedicated to literary "lineages," schoolhouse mentors, outliers, tough love, writers without mentors, and those in need of intervention; each contribution can be read as a stand-alone account, or taken as part of the greater whole.
VERDICT These insider stories, recounting the experiences of beginning writers, poets, and MFA students alike, will resonate with those following a similar path. While there are lessons to be gleaned, this is not a book on learning how to write, nor is it a guide to developing a mentor/mentee relationship.
Reviewed by Gricel Dominguez, Florida International Univ. Lib. , Nov 15, 2015
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