Excerpt from The Next American Essay

Table of Contents and First Sentences

Prologue
"And"
Guy Davenport

"A papyrus fragment of a gospel written in the first century shows us Jesus on the bank of the Jordan with people around him.

1975
"The Search for Marvin Gardens"
John McPhee

"Go. I roll the dice -- a six and a two. Through the air I move my token, the flatiron, to Vermont Avenue, where dogs pack range."

1976
"The Raven"
Barry Lopez

"I am going to have to start at the other end by telling you this: there are no crows in the desert."

1977
"Unguided Tour"
Susan Sontag

"I took a trip to see the beautiful things."

1978
"Girl"
Jamaica Kincaid

"Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry...."

1979
"The White Album"
Joan Didion

"We tell ourselves stories in order to live."

1980
"May Morning"
James Wright

"Deep into spring, winter is hanging on."

1981
"Country Cooking from Central France: Roast Boned Rolled Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb (Farce Double)
Harry Mathews

"Here is an old French regional dish for you to try."

1982
"Total Eclipse"
Annie Dillard

"It had been like dying, that sliding down the mountain pass."

1983
"The Theory and Practice of Postmodernism: A Manifesto"
David Antin

"about two years ago ellie and I decided we needed a new mattress"

1984
"The Dream of India"
Eliot Weinberger

"For India was named by Noah, and its king is called the King of Knowledge."

1985
"Erato Love Poetry"
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha

"She is entering now."

1986
"The Marionette Theatre"
Dennis Silk

"A Japanese traveler, Saikaku, has a tricky story about umbrellas."

1987
"Kinds of Water"
Anne Carson

"At the foot of the port of Roncesvalles, a small town bathes itself."

1988
"Oil"
Fabio Morabito

"Oil is water that has lost its get up and go, its cheeky forward drive."

1989
"Needs"
George W.S. Trow

"First, what I need you to do is give me permission to drive you complete insane, by using the word 'need' in places where another word, like 'want' or 'order,' would be more 'honest.'"

1990
"Notes Toward a History of Scaffolding"
Susan Mitchell

"Once the cameriera has pulled open the heavy draperies and cranked out shutters so thick they would protect even an insomniac from the most insistent noise and dazzle, there it is: cobbles and clatter of light, squeak of pulleys, the dash, the rattling, shouts and anvil bangs -- all the canon and commotion of Rome sung, swung, and wafted with one deft heave of the cameriera's arm, along with smells of coffee and fresh baked cornetti, butter curlicues on ice, milk in its pitcher."

1991
"Delft"
Albert Goldbarth

"He cometh unto his kingdom now."

1992
"...and nobody objected"
Paul Metcalf

"Who was he? Where was he born? When was he born? Where did he come from? Where had he traveled? What had he done? Where did he study? What did he know? What was his name?"

October 1992
"Captivity"
Sherman Alexie

"When I tell this story, remember it may change: the reservation recalls the white girl with no name or a name which refuses memory."

1993
"Red Shoes"
Susan Griffin

"The imprisonment which was at one and the same time understood as the imprisonment of the female mind has a larger boundary, and that is the shape of thought itself within Western civilization."

1994
"Black"
Alexander Theroux

"Black is the Stygian well."

1995
"Foucault and Pencil"
Lydia Davis

"Sat down to read Foucault with pencil in hand."

1996
"Life Story"
David Shields

"First things first."

1997
"Ticket to the Fair"
David Foster Wallace

"Today is Press Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, and I'm supposed to be at the fairgrounds by 9:00 A.M. to get my credentials."

1998
"Darling's Prick"
Wayne Koestenbaum

"I am not interested in the prick per se. I am interested in prose."

1999
"The Intercession of Saints"
Carole Maso

"Saints hold a tambourine, a lily, a pomegranate, a flame, a red book, a plum"

2000
"Monument"
Mary Ruefle

"A small war had ended."

2001
"A . ' . I"
Thalia Field

"I occupy this uncomfortable chair in your office and you stare at me."

2002
"Sleep"
Brian Lennon

"At first things collide, collude, drive you along."

2003
"The Body"
Jenny Boully

"It was the particular feel of him that made me want to go back: everything that is said is said underneath, where, if it does matter, to acknowledge it is to let on to your embarassment."

Epilogue
"Things to Do Today
Joe Wenderoth

"1. thaw the wounded"

Compilation copyright 2003 by John D'Agata. All rights reserved.