{"title":"Alexander Manshel","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlexander Manshel’s works delve into the art and craft of writing, offering insightful approaches to composition and communication. Readers can expect thoughtful guidance that challenges conventional methods, encouraging a fresh perspective on how ideas take shape in written form.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBlending clarity with innovation, Manshel’s books are ideal for those interested in education and effective expression. His explorations serve as a valuable resource for writers and educators seeking to deepen their understanding of the writing process.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"writing-backwards-by-alexander-manshel-9780231211277","title":"Writing Backwards","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContemporary fiction has never been less contemporary. Midcentury writers tended to set their works in their own moment, but for the last several decades critical acclaim and attention have fixated on historical fiction. This shift is particularly dramatic for writers of colour. Even as the literary canon has become more diverse, cultural institutions have celebrated Black, Asian American, Latinx, and Indigenous novelists almost exclusively for their historical fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWriting Backwards\u003c\/em\u003e explores what the dominance of historical fiction in the contemporary canon reveals about American literary culture. Alexander Manshel investigates the most celebrated historical genres—contemporary narratives of slavery, the World War II novel, the multigenerational family saga, immigrant fiction, and the novel of recent history—alongside the literary and academic institutions that have elevated them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe examines novels by writers including Toni Morrison, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Colson Whitehead, Julia Alvarez, Leslie Marmon Silko, Michael Chabon, Julie Otsuka, Yaa Gyasi, Ben Lerner, and Tommy Orange in the context of MFA programs, literary prizes, university syllabi, book clubs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Manshel studies how historical fiction has evolved over the last half century, documenting the formation of the newly inclusive literary canon as well as who and what it still excludes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOffering new insight into how institutions shape literature and the limits of historical memory, \u003cem\u003eWriting Backwards\u003c\/em\u003e also considers recent challenges to the historical turn in American fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47406342701292,"sku":"9780231211277","price":66.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/71deTQhmYeL._SL1500.jpg?v=1773963315"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/alexander-manshel.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}