Book Review: How We Do It
A kaleidoscopic new book on the craft of writing
How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill
Edited by Jericho Brown
July 2023, $18.99 paperback
Criticism, Craft, or Creativity: Craft
Most Likely Audience: New Writers
Worth Your Time and Money?: Yes
The biggest strength of How We Do It, the new book of craft essays edited by Jericho Brown, is its kaleidoscopic nature. It comes at writing from every angle and illuminates every facet the process, and there’s an essay for pretty much every kind of writer working in almost any form. The writers in the collection are all Black, just like it says on the tin, and their experiences and advice for Black writers trying to make it in the white world of publishing will resonate most clearly with other Black writers. However, the essays are wide-ranging, multi-voiced, and evergreen in a way that would benefit just about every new writer, especially those who are marginalized or who wish to expand and update their craft of writing bookshelf beyond the usual (and rather stodgy) Strunk and White.
