"It became needful, then, to watch for and treasure incidents that were sharply dramatic or poignant, moods that were clear and definite, pictures that created a single clean impression."
Essays and Essay Writing: Based on Atlantic Monthly Models. 1927. Ed. William M. Tanner, M.A. Boston Little, Brown and Company. Page 23.
We came across this book in a friend's library, and in the course of a two-day journey from Davis, California to Prescott, Arizona we formulated the following plan. Listed in the appendix are 250 Subjects for Familiar Essays. We have printed the list, cut it into 250 pieces and mixed them up in a wicker basket. Each day, we will draw a topic and spend 24 hours independently composing a short familiar essay (no more than a page). Those essays will then be posted here.
This project is mostly an intellectual exercise for a newly-retired writing teacher and her anxiously-unemployed librarian daughter, both of whom are in need of something to keep them occupied during a transitional time.
Comments, contributions, and topic suggestions are welcome.
Disclaimer: Familiar Essays are, by their nature, personal and reflect the author's perception. But they are also meant to be read by an audience. This is not a journal.
