I recently came across this book in the biography section of my local bookstore, promptly purchasing it. Joyce Carol Oates is one the world’s most prolific and accomplished writers, having written works of fiction, poetry, plays, and numerous collections of nonfiction and essays, many of which deal with important humanitarian themes. She’s received many awards for her work, including “The National Humanities Medal,” awarded to her by President Obama in 2010.
The book pictured here is a collection of letters she’d written to her biographer from 1975 to 2006. Just like her fiction and essays, her letters are like works of literature, albeit casual and personal as well, including insights into her ideas about writing, thoughts about her published works and works in progress, impressions of other writers and their works, and a variety of other topics, some personal and some about the world at large.
Joyce continues to publish new works and is an active contributor on Twitter (x). I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with her several times on Twitter and discovering that she quoted a few of my own commentaries, which was a thrill for me.
I’m looking forward to reading her collection of letters. I have an interest in epistolary writing, which is a fancy term for letter writing. Epistolary works are sometimes fictional, other times actual correspondences. I’ve previously attempted epistolary writing in the form of fiction, and it worked out well at the time. I’m interested in pursuing this further, as it seems to fit my style of writing, or one of my styles.
© 2025 David M. Rubin. All rights reserved.
Notes from David 