I’ll Tell You Mine: Thirty Years of Essays from the Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program

This enthralling anthology assembles what the editors identify as the best writing to come out of the Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program, featuring varied and stunning essays from both well-known and lesser-known virtuosos of the personal and narrative essay. Pieces from Jo Ann Beard (“Cousins”), John D’Agata (“Round Trip”), and Will Jennings (“How I Know Orion”) particularly stand out. Many know the University of Iowa as home to the famous Writers’ Workshop, which offers M.F.A.s for fiction and poetry. The nonfiction program, although much younger, is heir to the same world-class tradition, as proved here with such selections as Inara Verzemniek’s phenomenal “The Last Day of the Baldock,” the product of her immersion in an Oregon squatters’ community. Each essay is followed by a newly written afterword by the author; these typically combine discussion of the craft with accounts of the years and iterations an essay goes through on the way to publication. This expertly curated anthology holds abundant value for the student of writing and lover of literature alike. (Nov.)