“A poignant, nostalgic collection of literary criticism by one of America’s premier authors.” —Kirkus Reviews   In Rough Country is a sterling collection of essays, reviews, and criticism from Joyce Carol Oates that focuses on a wide array of books and writers—from Poe to Nabokov, from Flannery O’Connor to Phillip Roth. One of our foremost novelists, National Book Award and PEN/Malamud Award winner Oates demonstrates an unparalleled understanding and appreciation of great works of literature with In Rough Country, and offers unique and breathtaking insights into the writer’s art. But In Rough Country is also a startlingly personal work, born from a time of grief, where reading and writing became a lifeline. Classic American Authors: Explore the "treacherous terrains" of Edgar Allan Poe, the witchcraft of Shirley Jackson, and the startling figures of Flannery O’Connor. - Contemporary Masters: Delve into the rough country of Cormac McCarthy and Annie Proulx, Philip Roth’s tragic jokes, and the tales of Margaret Atwood. - A Memoir of Reading and Grief: In a deeply moving preface, Oates reveals how literature became a "traditional solace to the bereft" after the death of her husband, Raymond Smith. - On the Writer’s Craft: A master novelist offers an unparalleled look into writerly influences, the structure of a literary essay, and the "lifeline" of the written word. Oates’ knowing and voluptuously inquisitive journeys through books reveal glimpses of her private self and map her inspirations and feelings of “kinship” with other writers. Her latest collection of reviews and essays is the most poignant, open, and trusting to date. The title, Oates tells us, refers to the imagined worlds limned by writers under her scrutiny, including Poe, Flannery O’Connor, Shirley Jackson, Roahl Dahl, Margaret Atwood, and Annie Proulx. But “rough country” is also where Oates found herself when her husband of 48 years died suddenly in early 2008. Oates found solace in reading and in writing these illuminating and fluent essays. A relaxed yet erudite and exacting critic, she is nimble in her assessment of Nabokov and avidly forensic in her dissection of Salman Rushdie. Her keen eye extends to visual art, and her response to Annie Leibovitz’s retrospective exhibition and book, A Photographer’s Life (2009), is clarion. Most captivating and poignant are Oates’ personal essays, particularly her gracefully revealing portrait of Lockport, New York Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Table Normal; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family:Times New Roman;}––a place crucial to her exceptional sensibility. --Donna Seaman “Her essays, never grating nor bland, engage the reader with their refreshing honesty.” - Publishers Weekly “A poignant, nostalgic collection of literary criticism by one of America’s premier authors, gathered in the aftermath of her husband’s recent death...a remarkably forthright and moving preface...the author effectively combines her highly tuned sensibilities, sharp research and concise, vivid prose...Always a teacher, Oates imbues each essay with a careful sifting of the evidence and consistently acute observations. A top-notch literary talent invites readers to find new inspiration in these works, and in her own.” - Kirkus Reviews “Oates’ knowing and voluptuously inquisitive journeys through books reveal glimpses of her private self and map her inspirations and feelings of “kinship” with other writers. Her latest collection of reviews and essays is the most poignant, open, and trusting to date...A relaxed yet erudite and exacting critic, she is nimble in her assessment of Nabokov and avidly forensic in her dissection of Salman Rushdie. Most captivating and poignant are Oates’ personal essays, particularly her gracefully revealing portrait of Lockport, New York.” - Booklist “Oates writes movingly in the preface about her dual identity in those months immediately after Smith’s death—by day, a pitied widow, by night an avid reader. It’s a fascinating chapter, poignant, intimate...this collection is a rich gathering of insights from a mind consecrated to books—both as a writer, and as a reader.” - Salon “Oates writes like a woman who walks into rough country and doesn’t look back...long sentences unfold with great beauty, and [Oates’s] line of argument follows not an artificial arc but the natural course of thought.” - New York Times Book Review In twenty-nine provocative essays, Joyce Carol Oates maps the "rough country" that is both the treacherous geographical and psychological terrain of the writers she so cogently analyzes—Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Philip Roth, E. L. Doctorow, and Margaret