Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting

Why do we knit? Why do we love to knit? And why, at times, do we need to knit? Novelist Hood (The Knitting Circle) has assembled 26 essays and one poem that meditate on the magic of knitting. Six companion patterns accompany them. With essays as varied as any pattern or skein of yarn, writers as different as Sue Grafton and Andre Dubus III, Anita Shreve and Barbara Kingsolver, follow their own knitting, and the knitting of others, through personal and familial histories, great friendships and romances, through dark, dreamy, and downright dusty times. Knitting plays the role of nemesis, companion, and guide. Grafton claims that “knitting can create an immutable bond between teacher and pupil; one that will resonate through a lifetime.” And indeed, this collection is rife with teachers who still resonate with these writers: mothers, grandmothers, aunts, friends, daughters, even complete strangers. Several essays explore the palpably strong role knitting seems to have as grief’s companion and salve. While tracing the magic of knitting, these funny, honest, and moving essays turn out to be quite magical themselves. Agent: Gail Hochman. (Nov.)