Chapter 8

Scott Russell Sanders

"The Most Human Art: Ten Reasons Why We'll Always Need a Good Story"

Biographical

This is Sanders's homepage at the Indiana University Graduate Creative Writing Program's site. There, you'll find a photo and a biographical sketch.

Take a look at this brief biography. What is its source? How does it differ from the one you visited above? If you had to pick just one as a research source, which one would you pick? Why?

What can you tell about Sanders from studying this portrait of him? How do you go about studying a portrait, anyway?

Cultural

Has reading Sanders's work interested you in doing some nature writing of your own? This page of nature writing links will help you on your way. If this were your page, what other authors would you include?

Interested in what Sanders himself reads? Take a look at this list of his twenty favorite books. How many of them have you read? How many are you going to read now?

Did you know that Sanders writes books for children? You can learn about one of them, Warm as Wool, by visiting this page.

Here is some information about a couple of awards that Sanders has won from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Bibliographical

This essay, called"Sorrow and Solidarity," presents the author's thoughts about America's early response to the attacks of September 11th.

Time for some multimedia: Click here to see a video featuring Sanders talking about his book, The Force of Spirit.

Read this quote from the author's book Staying Put. What is it doing on a page about spirituality and health?

Lynna Williams

"We Told You This, Didn't We?"

Biographical

Lynna Williams's page at Emory University has a brief bio, an excerpt from one of her stories, and contact information.

Cultural

Lynna Williams identifies herself as a"new Southern writer. StorySouth is an online magazine featuring"the best from new south writers."

Barbara Kingsolver

"In Case You Ever Want to Go Home Again"

Biographical

This page contains a Kingsolver biography, as well as links to an FAQ, a bibliography, a chronology, and a news site. It's a very good place to start researching the author's life.

This biography page from Bookreporter.com includes a photo of the author, and some links to information about four of her books.

Here's another biographical approach: This page starts with some"fast facts" about the author, followed by a biographical sketch. You'll even find a link to some Kingsolver trivia for good measure.

Cultural

Here's a page with links to reviews of Kingsolver's books and articles by and about the author. There's also a link to Kingsolver herself reading a thirty-minute excerpt from The Poisonwood Bible. (Free registration required.)

While Kingsolver is better known to most people through her fiction, she started her writing career writing a celebrated nonfiction account called Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983. Read more about it here.

Interested in pursuing the story of the 1983 strike further? Besides getting a hold of Kingsolver's book, you can visit this site that revolves around the issue.

One recurrent thread in Kingsolver's writing is a deep concern for human rights. Human Rights Watch has put together a beautifully organized website that will help you research any number of relevant topics.

Bibliographical

In this Salon.com interview, Kingsolver discusses a wide range of topics, including multiculturalism and how she deals with publicity.

Ready for some of Kingsolver's work in etext? Ok then, click here to read an excerpt from her novel The Poisonwood Bible.

This page has links to RealAudio clips from four of Kingsolver's books: High Tide in Tucson, Homeland and Other Stories, Pigs in Heaven, and Prodigal Summer.