The Next American Essay

In this singular collection, John D’Agata takes a literary tour of lyric essays written by the masters of the craft. Beginning with 1975 and John McPhee’s ingenious piece, “The Search for Marvin Gardens,” D’Agata selects an example of creative nonfiction for each subsequent year. These essays are unrestrained, elusive, explosive, mysterious—a personal lingual playground. They encompass and illuminate culture, myth, history, romance, and sex. Each essay is a world of its own, a world so distinctive it resists definition.
And (Prologue) / Guy Davenport —
The search for Marvin Gardens (1975) / John McPhee —
The raven (1976) / Barry Lopez —
Unguided tour (1977) / Susan Sontag —
Girl (1978) / Jamaica Kincaid —
The white album (1979) / Joan Didion —
May morning (1980) / James Wright —
Country cooking from central France: roast boned rolled stuffed shoulder of lamb (Farce double) (1981) / Harry Mathews —
Total eclipse (1982) / Annie Dillard —
The theory and practice of postmodernism: A manifesto (1983) / David Antin —
The dream of India (1984) / Eliot Weinberger —
Erato, love poetry (1985) / Theresa Hak Kyung Cha —
The marionette theater (1986) / Dennis Silk —
Kinds of water (1987) / Anne Carson —
Oil (1988) / Fabio Morabito —
Needs (1989) / George W.S. Trow —
Notes toward a history of scaffolding (1990) / Susan Mitchell —
Delft (1991) / Albert Goldbarth —
” … and nobody objected” (1992) / Paul Metcalf —
Captivity (October 1992) / Sherman Alexie —
Red shoes (1993) / Susan Griffin —
Black (1994) / Alexander Theroux —
Foucault and pencil (1995) / Lydia Davis —
Life story (1996) / David Shields —
Ticket to the fair (1997) / David Foster Wallace —
Darling’s prick (1998) / Wayne Koestenbaum —
The intercession of the saints (1999) / Carole Maso —
Monument (2000) / Mary Ruefle —
A I (2001) / Thalia Field —
Sleep (2002) / Brian Lennon —
The body (2003) / Jenny Boully —
Things to do today (Epilogue) / Joe Wenderoth