A Prayer Journal by Flannery O'Connor (English) Hardcover Book

Description: A Prayer Journal by Flannery O'Connor The inspiring devotional journal of a young Flannery OConnor, which contains the key to her life and work FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description "I would like to write a beautiful prayer," writes the young Flannery OConnor in this deeply spiritual journal, recently discovered among her papers in Georgia. "There is a whole sensible world around me that I should be able to turn to Your praise." Written between 1946 and 1947 while OConnor was a student far from home at the University of Iowa, A Prayer Journal is a rare portal into the interior life of the great writer. Not only does it map OConnors singular relationship with the divine, but it shows how entwined her literary desire was with her yearning for God. "I must write down that I am to be an artist. Not in the sense of aesthetic frippery but in the sense of aesthetic craftsmanship; otherwise I will feel my loneliness continually . . . I do not want to be lonely all my life but people only make us lonelier by reminding us of God. Dear God please help me to be an artist, please let it lead to You." OConnor could not be more plain about her literary ambition: "Please help me dear God to be a good writer and to get something else accepted," she writes. Yet she struggles with any trace of self-regard: "Dont let me ever think, dear God, that I was anything but the instrument for Your story." As W. A. Sessions, who knew OConnor, writes in his introduction, it was no coincidence that she began writing the stories that would become her first novel, Wise Blood, during the years when she wrote these singularly imaginative Christian meditations. Including a facsimile of the entire journal in OConnors own hand, A Prayer Journal is the record of a brilliant young womans coming-of-age, a cry from the heart for love, grace, and art. Author Biography Flannery OConnor was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1925. A devoted Catholic, she lived most of her life on a farm in Milledgeville, Georgia, where she raised peacocks and wrote. She was the author of two novels, Wise Blood and The Violent Bear It Away; thrity-one short stories; and numerous essays and reviews. When she died at the age of thirty-nine, America lost one of its most gifted writers at the height of her powers. Her complete short stories, published posthumously in 1971, received the National Book Award for fiction. Review "When I read Flannery OConnor, I do not think of Hemingway, or Katherine Anne Porter, or Sartre, but rather of someone like Sophocles. What more can you say for a writer?" --Thomas Merton "This slender, charming book must be approached with a special tact. To read it feels a little like an intrusion on inwardness itself . . . The brilliance that would make [OConnors] fictions literary classics is fully apparent . . . ["A Prayer Journal"] is as eloquent on the subject of creativity as it is on the subject of prayer . . . The prose is absolutely brilliant, sentence by sentence, simile by simile . . . relentlessly inventive . . . [OConnors] religious sincerity is beyond question, but the forms of its expression raise many questions. This is no criticism. It is the honorable work of any writer who touches on great matters to provoke . . . This little journal puts its reader a step closer to one touching and remarkable young mind." --Marilynne Robinson, "The New York Times Book Review" "Miraculous . . . Both a blueprint for her fiction and a prophetic dreaming-out of her lifes purpose and pattern . . . Beneath the surface, as recorded on the 47 and a half handwritten pages to which we now have access, [OConnor] was refining her vocation with the muscularity and spiritual ferocity of a young saint-in-waiting." --James Parker, "The Atlantic" "A startlingly different view of the religious OConnor." --Marian Ryan, "Slate" "If youve already read everything ever written by Flannery OConnor and crave more, take heart: This recently discovered diary of her long-form letters to God will make youespecially thankful." --Abbe Wright, "O: The Oprah Magazine" "Perhaps the most intimate writing that has yet surfaced from OConnor." --Bo Emerson, "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" "Religious or not, the daily devotionals written by one of Americas greatest writers between 1946 and 1947 are uplifting and inspiring, as well as a great insight into the mind of Flannery OConnor." --Jason Diamond, "Flavorpill," 10 Must Reads for November "Gorgeous" --Leon Wieseltier, "The New Republic" "A fascinating prospect for anyone with an interest in OConnors writing, inseparable as it is from her Catholic belief in sin and redemption." --Mark OConnell, "The Millions"" ""I love the OConnor that shines through these pages . . . Witty . . . Deeply earnest." --Betsy Childs, "First Things" "This stirring collection of prayers and reflections provides another crucial piece in the enduringly mysterious and endlessly intriguing puzzle that was Flannery OConnors life." --Lorraine V. Murray, "The Georgia Bulletin"" ""["A Prayer Journal"] offers an honest, intimate, humorous, mysterious, and comforting view into the mind and heart of one of Americas greatest writers." --Word on Fire Catholic Ministries "OConnor had said, I think it is safe to say that while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted. ["A Prayer Journal"] should be a fine place to see the inner life of one of Americas finest fiction writers in history, and an unwavering Christian, as she experiences that haunting herself." --Bible Portal, ChristianPost.com "These excerpts are raw revelations of a devout young persons struggle . . . You can hear the push and pull, the train of her particular Christianity on a brilliant mind." --Amy Frykholm, "The Christian Century Blog" "Have you ever read something . . . so sublime that it was hard to talk about with anything resembling coherence. If so, then youll understand why it is so difficult to articulate my experience of reading Flannery OConnors intimate and soul-baring "A Prayer Journal." I closed the book with a combination of awed silence and heart-soaring joy." --Angela Cybulski, Dappled Things: A Quarterly Journal of Ideas, Art, & Faith "A collection of poignant, lyrical letters to God, written passionately and honestly . . . Many readers may breathe a sigh of relief to learn [OConnor] had trouble praying. Not that I would wish this on anyone, but her admission makes her less of an untouchable, perfect icon of faith . . . I pray that many readers will experience, as I have, a resounding joy in reading the words of this beloved author again after so many years." --Lorraine Murray, IntegratedCatholicLife.org " ""Theres metaphysical mystery at the heart of this short journal . . . as well as the seeds of the spiritual life force that coursed through [OConnors] fiction." --"Kirkus Reviews"" ""[The prayers are] astutely crafted and reveal a masterful writer at work." --"Publishers Weekly" Review Quote "When I read Flannery OConnor, I do not think of Hemingway, or Katherine Anne Porter, or Sartre, but rather of someone like Sophocles. What more can you say for a writer?" -Thomas Merton Excerpt from Book "Dear God, I cannot love Thee the way I want to. You are the slim crescent of a moon that I see and my self is the earths shadow that keeps me from seeing all the moon . . . "I do not know you God because I a m in the way. Please help me to push myself aside . . . "I do not mean to deny the traditional prayers I have said all my life; but I have been saying them and not feeling them. My attention is always very fugitive. This way I have it every instant. I can feel a warmth of love heating me when I think & write this to You." - from A Prayer Journal Description for Library Written in 1946-47 while OConnor was at the Iowa Writers Workshop and only recently discovered, this devotional journal shows the author speaking directly to God, working out both her religious sentiments and her literary aspirations. Fans will appreciate the insight into her work. Details ISBN0374236917 Author Flannery OConnor Short Title PRAYER JOURNAL Language English ISBN-10 0374236917 ISBN-13 9780374236915 Media Book Format Hardcover Residence GA, US Birth 1925 Death 1964 DEWEY 282.092 Year 2013 Publication Date 2013-11-12 Edited by Sessions, W. A. Imprint Farrar, Straus and Giroux Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2013-11-12 NZ Release Date 2013-11-12 US Release Date 2013-11-12 UK Release Date 2013-11-12 Pages 112 Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux Illustrations Frontispiece Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:77162353;

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