Between Song and Storycelebrates the contemporary essay’s capacity to live between the two worlds of lyric and narrative. The editors have sought to capture that duality in this anthology, a collection of writings that exemplifies the diverse, exuberant, and intrepid forms of the contemporary essay. Designed for use in any writing course focusing on the craft of the essay, the anthology includes healthy selections of lyric and formally adventurous essays, as well as those focused on nature and travel writing, and more nuanced explorations of place. This anthology tells a rich story about the wealth of experimentation and diversity of approaches to the essay in the twenty-first century. Readers will be engaged and surprised. 

Includes work by Dorothy Allison, Jimmy Santiago Baca, John Biguenet, Tom Bissell, Greg Bottoms, Joy Castro, Toi Derricotte, Brian Doyle, Gretel Ehrlich, Jane Fishman, Linda Hogan, Barbara Hurd, Lori Jakiela, Jamaica Kincaid, Phillip Lopate, BK Loren, Kathryn Miles, Brenda Miller, Ander Monson, Dinty W. Moore, Naomi Shihab Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, Alicia Ostriker, Michael Pollan, Lia Purpura, Janisse Ray, Pattiann Rogers, Sheryl St. Germain, Marjane Satrapi, John Edgar Wideman and more.