Extra: Reading from Annie Dillard's Memoir of her Childhood
Some words are better out loud--a passage about childlike joy
Click on the orange arrow in the audio player above to hear me read a selection from Annie Dillard’s memoir, “An American Childhood.”
If you are a writer, you may be familiar with Annie Dillard’s book “The Writing Life.” She's also written several essay collections and a poetry volume as well-Tickets for a Prayer Wheel, along with two works of fiction. Dillard’s book on writing was my first exposure to her work and I was tickled to recently find her childhood memoir at my favorite used bookstore.
The entries in “An American Childhood” have made me laugh out loud—Dillard captures the exuberance and wonder of childhood in a remarkable way. As with many books, some of the passages are best heard rather than simply read. So here you are, me reading out loud about Joy, because some words are better out loud.
Annie Dillard bibliography—from Wikipedia
Thursday we’ll back to our regularly-scheduled poetry posts….
See you here then!
Jody
Annie Dillard’s works serve as a focus of the writing classes I teach. She is such an exemplary model of writing with passionate investment & vitalized force in the service of eternal beauty. Thank you for sharing this work!
After all, what's a heart for? This is gold and that's one of my favorite books by my favorite author. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek – "... I live for it, for the moment the mountains open and a new light roars in spate through the crack, and the mountains slam." What a perceptive soul.