A look at the lives and conflicts of four writers--Langston Hughes, Mark Twain, Lydia Maria Child, and Margaret Sanger--who faced public criticism and censorship because oftheir views on controversial issues. (RM)

When writers are interviewed, they do not let us in on what it is that makes them gifted or how they actually write; instead, they give us a performance in the particular imaginative mode that is theirs. They manipulate the interview situation with great style and skill. Examples are provided. (RM)

Provides biographical information on author Nancy Willard. (AEA)

Using his own piece of nonfiction ("Never to Forget: The Jews of the Holocaust") as an example, the author discusses the craft of writing nonfiction and argues that, without craft, books of nonfiction contain nothing but "dead words." (HOD)

The universal appeal of the printed medium emanates from the fulfillment of immediate personal needs. The primary objective of this article is to outline the needs of authors and readers that are satisfied by the printed medium. (Author)

Explains why many young adult books should be considered adult fiction about yesterday's adolescents, not necessarily for today's adolescents. (MKM)

Describes the development and publishing by an artist of a book on scientific illustration. (CMV)

English teachers, members of the cult of fanatical seriousness in higher education, need to discover the fundamental comedy of life, as several recent writers have. (DD)

Profiles Eloise Greenfield. Reveals that Greenfield's early love of music echoes in both the form and content of her poetry and prose. Notes that her poems are marked by strong rhythms, expressions of emotion, and a strong sense of children, their voices, and the waystations on their journey through life. (SR)

Argues that Joseph Conrad's political novels belie the sweeping and vague rhetoric sometimes used to describe them. States that Conrad, disillusioned with materialism in his political novels, imagines that "industrialism and commercialism" may foster wars between democracies. Contends Conrad's interest is at least divided between a…

This interview with Jack Gantos, an author who writes books for young adults, focuses on how he uses his own personal experiences in his books. Discusses memories of his father and his childhood, drug-smuggling activities and the resulting jail time, and student reactions to his books. (LRW)

States that "gathering material" is what writers do when they are not writing and that writers are their own first audience, even as they write. Advocates active reading and book collecting as rewarding for writers. (PA)

Presents an annotated bibliography of works by writers discussing their own writing processes. Includes numerous references to interviews with poets and novelists. (JAD)

Recounts the reasons historians become novelists, citing several examples as well as the author's personal experience. Fictionalized accounts allow the historian a freedom not permitted when historical accuracy and documentation are required. (LS)

Presents a profile of Patricia McKissack, giving insight into the forces that shape her work and beliefs behind it. (MG)