Buechner, Frederick (Vol. 2) - Buechner, Frederick 1926–
Buechner, Frederick 1926–
Buechner, an American novelist, is also a Presbyterian minister. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 13-14.)
Technically, Frederick Buechner's "The Alphabet of Grace" is a prose piece, but you don't get very far in it before you know that the author has set himself the task of the poet. There is no narrative—it is not fiction; nor can it be classed as an essay or polemic. The author takes the common, mundane experiences of daily life and reflects on them. It is a sort of journal. A careless reader might class it in a journal-of-the-soul genre, but Mr. Buechner would wince at this. It is much better described as a journal of the body. That is, in so far as that body, and all the pleasure and fatigue and sensation and eating and irrigation that go along with it, suggests more than itself, it is worth our while (says this book) to sit up and take notice. Mr. Buechner's subject here is the humdrum, in the same sense...
[The entire page is 2208 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
