{"id":2699,"date":"2007-06-28T01:20:14","date_gmt":"2007-06-28T06:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2007\/06\/28\/anne-hang-on\/"},"modified":"2007-06-28T01:20:14","modified_gmt":"2007-06-28T06:20:14","slug":"anne-hang-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2007\/06\/28\/anne-hang-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Anne, Hang on!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

At one point in the history of writing this blog, I thought I\u2019d do a series on my favorite essayists. I think the series got off the ground with my favorite essayist and then fizzled: Joseph Epstein<\/a>. I suppose it is a mistake to begin with the best. For years I devoured The American Scholar<\/em> journal because Epstein was its editor and a regular contributor. Then he moved aside and Anne Fadiman assumed his fountain pen elegance. Then they sacked Anne and I dropped my subscription. There was something unique about The American Scholar<\/em> \u2014 the familiar essay.
\nIn her new book, At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays by Anne Fadiman<\/a><\/em>, Anne Fadmian collects a dozen of her familiar essays. I relish good familiar essays so much I\u2019ll only read one of these per week \u2014 even though I\u2019ve already read most of them. What, you ask, is a familiar essay? Glad you asked because that was what I thought I should jot down next!
\n\u201cHis viewpoint was subjective,\u201d Anne says of the prototypes in Charles Lamb and William Hazlitt, \u201chis frame of reference concrete, his style digressive, his eccentricities conspicuous, and his laughter usually at his own expense.\u201d She uses the male pronoun for a reason: Her father, Clifton Fadiman, once said women didn\u2019t write familiar essays because \u201cthe form does not attract them.\u201d Anne has a response: \u201cWell, it attracts me<\/em>.\u201d And her book attracts me: a lovely font, a book small enough to fit perfectly in my hand, clothbound so it lasts, and content that makes me want to sit on my porch and enjoy the pleasure of someone who knows how to make words play their proper game.
\nThere are today many critical essays (more brain than heart) and personal essays (more heart than brain) but not enough familiar essays (a balance of the two). They are a blend of \u201cnarcissism and curiosity\u201d and many are saying the familiar essay\u2019s days are numbered. But, not for Anne.
\nAnd not for me. With her I hope \u201cno dirge, gentle or otherwise,\u201d quoting her father again, \u201cneed ever be sung to lament its passing.\u201d
\nIf you find the pace of the familiar essay to slow for you, you are too busy. Friendship, which creates the space for the familiar essay, isn\u2019t in a hurry and neither is Anne. So, sit down with At Large and At Small<\/em> and Enjoy! She\u2019ll be a friend in no time.
\nYep, familiar essays tend to be written by the sophisticates and border at times on snobbery and the essayists quote folks without footnotes from sources that are definitely highbrow, but if you want a piece to read to a friend over coffee, nothing works like a familiar essay. Nothing. It\u2019s simply designed for that setting. Two friends, together, who take a line of thought out for a walk with no purpose other than the enjoyment of conversing together.
\nThe best Christian familiar essayist is Alan Jacobs<\/a>. John Wilson, the marvelous editor at Books and Culture, has wisely opened his door to the essays of Jacobs.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At one point in the history of writing this blog, I thought I\u2019d do a series on my favorite essayists. I think the series got off the ground with my favorite essayist and then fizzled: Joseph Epstein. I suppose it is a mistake to begin with the best. For years I devoured The American Scholar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[476,1738],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-essays"],"yoast_head":"\nAnne, Hang on!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At one point in the history of writing this blog, I thought I'd do a series on my favorite essayists. 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