Teachers, exercises, mentors, critiques, humor, and inspiration: these form the fuel all writers need when they get down to work every day. For decades the Loft Literary Center has provided this fuel to an enormous community of writers. Views from the Loft brings together the collected wisdom of that community — its authors, students, and editors — giving anyone the tools and inspiration necessary to thrive in the writing life. A who’s who of writers on writing ranging from the National Book Award–winning poet Mark Doty to Newbery medal–winning children’s author Kate DiCamillo, and touching on issues as delicate as the representation of family in memoir and as hilarious as a “sad-epiphany poem” mad lib for frustrated poets, this book is an essential collection of crucial tips and challenging questions for everyone who puts pen to page. The essays and interviews in this book include superstar writers like Rick Bass, Michael Cunningham, Grace Paley, Susan Power, Susan Straight, Marilyn Hacker, and many, many more.