The Writer's Voice

For a writer voice is the problem that never lets you go. For a reader voice is a profound mystery. What is it? How does it develop and why should it even matter? How does the reader hear and respond to an authentic voice and what happens when the cult of personality threatens to subvert it? These are some of the slippery questions The Writers Voice addresses with confidence and clarity.Aspiring young writers often confuse voice with stylishness but the voice that matters has the whole weight of a life however young behind it. In this compelling book renowned poet author and critic A. Alvarez defines voice as the vehicle by which a writer expresses his aliveness hooks his readers and keeps them listening. These powerful reflections from a lifetimes experience belong alongside John Gardners The Art of Fiction E. M. Forsters Aspects of the Novel and William Zinssers On Writing Well.