Stephen Minot's THREE GENRES gives students a thorough introduction to poetry, fiction, and drama writing and addresses the dynamics of the creative process while providing a nontechnical analysis of each genre. Each genre section is self-contained, features complete works as examples, and provides advice on how to begin writing creatively in the genre. The advice given is practical, and Minot encourages students to work on their own.

NEW to the Seventh Edition:

• Troubleshooting Guide--topics that often give students trouble are arranged alphabetically with page references for easy access.
• A chapter on Dialogue in Fiction

THREE GENRES encourages students to find their own voices as writers.

• NEW - Troubleshooting Guide—Considers topics (arranged alphabetically, with page references) that often give students trouble.

  • Encourages students to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their own work when revising; provides a positive approach to the discussion of work in class; and, it offers instructors a convenient resource for augmenting their comments on student work, urging them to review specific topics such as thematic unity in poetry, irony in fiction, or dramatic impact in a play.

• NEW - A chapter on Dialogue in Fiction.

  • Introduces students to the various approaches as well as uses.

• NEW - Expanded Poetry section and Fiction sections—Includes a greater variety of poems, expanded chapters on poetry and fiction.

  • Provides more practical advice to help students to work on their own.

• NEW - Selections—story by Donald Barthelme, play by Murray Schisgal.

  • Offers new and valuable selections for students and instructors.

• The analysis of writing techniques in each of the three genres (poetry, fiction, and drama)—Always linked directly with a work that appears in its entirety. Presents poems, short stories, and plays written by contemporary authors and poets analyzed from several perspectives.

  • Ensures that students are never left with abstract principles that are not illustrated.

• Appendices on “Submitting Work for Publication” and “Resources for Writers.”

  • Provides practical advice for submitting materials for publication.

• List of resources for writers.

  • Provides a convenient starting place for students interested in more in-depth study.

STEPHEN MINOT, Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside, has been teaching creative writing for thirty years. A writer himself, Minot has authored three novels, two collections of short stories, and three textbooks. His latest text by Prentice Hall, LITERARY NONFICTION: THE FOURTH GENRE, is due in the Fall of 2002. His numerous short stories have appeared in such publications as The Atlantic, Harper's, The Kenyan Review, The Paris Review, and The Sewanee Review, among others. His work has been chosen to appear in The O. Henry Prize Stories collection, The Best American Short Stories, The Story, and New American Stories. Over the course of his career, Professor Minot has been the recipient of the Atlantic First Award as well as the Saxton Memorial Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for writing.