Snapshots

If pictures are worth a thousand words, what kinds of words might they inspire? What stories would they tell and would they be joyful or sad, elegant or savage? Snapshots features 36 such meditations from a diverse group of writers, each of whom draws on a photograph from their personal archive to inspire a short essay. Intimate and powerful, these reflections exhibit a range of sensibilities and experiences, offering unique insight into the lives and interests of both established and emerging authors. Expressing a dynamic array of styles, relationships, landscapes, and preoccupations, Snapshots is an album for our life and times. The book includes pieces from the writers below: - Emilie Pascale Beck - Suzanne Berne - Aimee Bender - Sven Birkerts - Kate Carroll De Gutes - Stuart Dybek - Alex Espinoza - Lynell George - Amy Gerstler - Tod Goldberg - Hannah Howard - Vanessa Hua - Pico Iyer - Wayne Koestenbaum - Major Jackson - Leslie Jamison - Dinah Lenney - Alex Marzano-Lesnevich - Aimee Liu - Sonja Livingston - Attica Locke - Dinty W. Moore - Mara Naselli - Naomi Shihab Nye - Ivy Pochoda - Adriana E. Ramirez - Sejal Shah - Brandon Shimoda - Jessica Silvester - Aisha Sabatini Sloan - Susan Straight - Grace Talusan - Abigail Thomas - Clifford Thompson - David L. Ulin - Diana Wagman

Dinah Lenney has served as core faculty for the Bennington Writing Seminars and in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. A longtime nonfiction editor at LARB, she herself has published several books in the genre, including Coffee (as part of the Bloomsbury Object Lessons series), The Object Parade and Bigger than Life, and co-edited Brief Encounters: A Collection of Literary Nonfiction with the late Judith Kitchen. Dinah's essays and reviews have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post among many other publications.

Introduction: a picture is worth a thousand words Prologue: Emerson Motorworks: Rochester, Vermont, MAJOR JACKSON 1. WAY BACK WHEN Vigilante, SONJA LIVINGSTON Girl By Default, KATE CARROLL DE GUTES Goodbye to Everything and Everybody, NAOMI SHIHAB NYE 2. FAMILY PORTRAITS Freedom, GRACE TALUSAN Axed, AIMEE LIU Serpentine, SEJAL SHAH On the Street with the Three Red Brick Houses, CLIFFORD THOMPSON The Celebration, SUZANNE BERNE 3. MIRROR, MIRROR This is the Start of a Wednesday, HANNAH HOWARD The Distance, ALEX MARZANO-LESNEVICH MacIntosh, ATTICA LOCKE Torn Self-Portrait with Striped Shirt, WAYNE KOESTENBAUM My Shadow Self, PICO IYER 4. WISH YOU WERE HERE Garden, IVY POCHODA Power Lines, MARA NASELLI The Feast of San Silverio, JESSICA SILVESTER Off Map, LYNELL GEORGE Backcountry, STUART DYBEK 5. BEFORE AND AFTER Richard and Gabrielle Straight, SUSAN STRAIGHT Fifty, SVEN BIRKERTS Finita, ADRIANA E. RAMIREZ Trick or Treat, DIANA WAGMAN Capitola, TOD GOLDBERG How to Safely Transport Your Wurlitzer, EMILIE PASCALE BECK Easton, Maryland, LESLIE JAMISON 6. ELEGIES Tan Guapos, ALEX ESPINOZA Memento, VANESSA HUA Envy, AMY GERSTLER Yamato, BRANDON SHIMODA 7. VIEWFINDERS Guitar with Burning Candle, AIMEE BENDER What's in the Background, AISHA SABATINI SLOAN Categories, DINAH LENNEY Girl with Corn, DINTY W. MOORE Wild Turkey, DAVID L. ULIN Postscript: Piggies, ABIGAIL THOMAS Alphabetical table of contents Appendix: List Of Themes Appendix: List Of Writing Prompts Appendix: A Very Abbreviated List of Recommended Reading Contributor Bios Photo Credits