{"product_id":"9781934137963","title":"A Solemn Pleasure: To Imagine, Witness, and Write","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFirecracker Award Finalist\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003ePoets \u0026amp; Writers\u003c\/i\u003e “Best Books for Writers” selection\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/i\u003e “Best Books about Books” selection\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eImage: Art, Faith, Mystery\u003c\/i\u003e “Top Ten of the Year” selection\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn an essay entitled “Spirit and Vision” Melissa Pritchard poses the question: “Why write?” Her answer reverberates throughout \u003ci\u003eA Solemn Pleasure\u003c\/i\u003e , presenting an undeniable case for both the power of language and the nurturing constancy of the writing life. Whether describing the deeply interior imaginative life required to write fiction, searching for the lost legacy of American literature as embodied by Walt Whitman, being embedded with a young female GI in Afghanistan, traveling with Ethiopian tribes, or revealing the heartrending story of her informally adopted son William, a former Sudanese child slave, this is nonfiction vividly engaged with the world. In these fifteen essays, Pritchard shares her passion for writing and storytelling that educates, honors, and inspires.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eMelissa Pritchard\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of, most recently, the novel \u003ci\u003ePalmerino\u003c\/i\u003e and the short story collection \u003ci\u003eThe Odditorium\u003c\/i\u003e . Her books have received the Flannery O’Connor, Janet Heidinger Kafka, and Carl Sandburg awards and two of her short fiction collections were \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book and Editors’ Choice selections. Pritchard has worked as a journalist in Afghanistan, India, and Ethiopia, and her nonfiction has appeared in various publications, including \u003ci\u003eO, The Oprah Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e , \u003ci\u003eArrive\u003c\/i\u003e , \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e , and \u003ci\u003eWilson Quarterly\u003c\/i\u003e . She lives in Phoenix, Arizona.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bellevue Literary Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47048191803632,"sku":"9781934137963","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781934137963_p0.jpg?v=1763641019","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781934137963","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}