I was first introduced to William Zinsser in my college’s Art of the Essay course. One of the many books we were required to purchase was the popular On Writing Well, a book that is recommended by many writing instructors. It is this book, which has sold more than 1.5-million copies and is often paired with Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, that made Zinsser’s name a popular one. It’s unfortunate that he has passed.
“The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art.”
—Junot Díaz, from The Daily Beast’s “How I Write” interviews. Díaz is a Dominican-American author, who is known for his best-selling novel, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. It won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His latest book, This Is How You Lose Her, is a collection of short stories that was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Zezee with Books 