FLP NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE DAY: Ode to Collapse: Essays on the Writing Life by Sarah Anne Strickley   On SALE now:  finishinglinepress.com/produ…   In Ode to Collapse: Essays on the Writing Life, readers will find Sarah Anne Strickley exploring a broad range of subjects (from famous fiery disasters to facial scars) with a wry sense of humor and keen observational insight, but the true through-line of this non-fiction debut is an unflinching examination of the creative life and all of its attendant failures. As Strickley writes in the title essay of the collection, “Almost every visitation to the page is at once a defeat and a mark of stubborn persistence.” So, why keep going? For readers looking for an honest and unsparing portrait of the writing life as it is lived (though rarely revealed) by countless writers working today, this collection will offer a unique guide for navigating the inevitable collapses along the pathway to realization. #creative-nonfiction #literarynon-fiction #writers #essay           SARAH ANNE TRICKLEY is the author of four books of prose. She’s a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing fellowship, an Ohio Arts grant, the Copper Nickel Editors’ Prize for Prose, and other honors. Her stories and essays have appeared in Oxford American, A Public Space, Witness, The Normal School, Ninth Letter, storySouth and elsewhere. She’s a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and earned her PhD from the University of Cincinnati. She’s an Assistant Professor of creative writing at the University of Louisville, where she serves as Faculty Editor of Miracle Monocle and the Director of the UofL PubLab. Website: sarahannestrickley.com  IG handle: @saystrick   PRAISE:   Ode to Collapse offers up the writer’s mind as a cabinet of curiosities, and Sarah Anne Strickley the guide who has picked you, of all people, to enchant with the room’s stashed secrets. Here, a precisely detailed diorama atop a floating tank; there, a taxidermy tableau surrounded by mystery blooms. Or maybe this book is a finely wrought apothecary chest, each elegant essay a drawer. Slide one open and discover inside: a balm, a jagged shard, a whole other tiny world. Wait, no, it’s a gorgeously illuminated treasure map, and the answer to “how do you get your ideas?” is waiting for the rag-tag group of seekers who dare to follow its lead. I could go on. Isn’t it amazing how many beautiful and useful things a Sarah Anne Strickley collection can be?   –Erin Keane, author of Runaway: Notes on the Myths That Made Me and chief content officer, Salon.com   Sarah Anne Strickley is one of the smartest writers out there. In Ode To Collapse she captures the entire breadth of what it means to be human, to be scarred, to be ambitious, and to be resilient. Whether she is writing about sensory deprivation tanks, catastrophic fires, or pet newts, Strickley is fearless, exacting, and also funny. Full of crisp and occasionally haunting prose, this is a beautiful and memorable book.   –Tom McAllister, author of It All Felt Impossible    Please share/please repost  #flpauthor #preorder #nonfiction #essays #writing