NONFICTION

Writers on Writing Selections

The ABC's of Writing Fiction
by Michèle Praeger
​an essay on using the 26 letters of the alphabet to become what you are not
The Blank Page
​OR Zen and the Wild Turkey Approach to Writing a Story​
by Bill Carpenter
a not altogether tongue-in-cheek manifesto on how to write
The Tortoise and the Eagle:
​Untimely Observations on the Writer's Craft​
by Don Plansky
a not altogether tongue-in-cheek treatise on the writing craft
The Writing Student​
by Jane Hudson
a personal essay on the difficulties of morphing from reader to writer

Bay Area Stew

NONFICTION WITH A FLAVOR OF THE SF BAY AREA
A San Francisco Masquerade
by Kaaren Strauch Brown
a personal essay on racial prejudice. . . or not
Rain or Shine​
by Michael Gordon
a sometimes humorous reflection on a new line of work post-retirement
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More Nonfiction

Christmas Trees: A Love Story
by Pat Skala
​a memoir of how an interfaith couple celebrate the holidays
Calling the Cardinals
by Rufus Browning
a memoir about losing a childhood home and relationships​
Hard Choices
by Marsha Michaels
​an essay about parents’ pain during their child’s illness​
Has Any Writer Ever Had a Happy Childhood?​
​(a book review)
by Michèle Praeger
a brooding essay on the angst of great writers​
Broken Connection​
by Elinor Gale
​a personal essay about how hearing and other losses affect relationships​
Dying Just Got a Whole Lot Harder
by Jan Robbins
​a sometimes dark-humor essay about choices available for our final remains​
Uneasy in My Easy Chair
by Cathy Fiorello
​a reflection on how the function of chairs changes as we age​

​The Vistas & Byways Review is the semiannual journal of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual arts by members of OLLI at SF State.
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​The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University​ provides material support to the Vistas & Byways volunteer staff.