Reflective practice: Review of Amal Chatterjee (ed) 'Creative Writing: Writers on Writing' Creative Writing Studies Imprint, Professional and Higher Partnership, Newmarket, UK 2013, ISBN 9781907076114, Hb 216pp GBP75.00

Abstract

What a good idea, I thought when I first received my copy of 'Creative Writing: Writers on Writing'. Amal Chatterjee has collected creative works from himself and seven other writers, Colm Breathnach, Fred D'Aguiar, Jane Draycott, Philip Gross, Kathryn Heyman, Sabyn Javeri and Emily Raboteau, and then asked each writer to pen a reflective piece about the creative works. The original literary works cover poetry, fiction and translation. The writers come from Australia, India, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Most of the material is written in English, though Colm Breathnach's poems are presented in Gaelic as well as English. The original creative works are short enough for seminar use. The reflective pieces are also reasonably digestible. I am already using different chapters in class because they provide practical insights into what I expect when I ask students to complete an exegesis. Undergraduate writing students frequently clamour for exegesis examples. This book offers multiple solutions, since both the original literary works and the exegeses are greatly varied.