The Writer's Garden presents an intriguing study of the beautiful gardens and outdoor spaces of 30 history's greatest writers.

By the time she reached her late twenties, Eudora Welty (1909–2001) was launching a distinguished literary career. She was also becoming a capable gardener under the tutelage of her mother, Chestina Welty, who designed their modest garden in Jackson, Mississippi. From the beginning, Eudora wove images of southern flora and gardens into her writing, yet few outside her personal circle knew that the images were drawn directly from her passionate connection to and abiding knowledge of her own garden. Near the end of her life, Welty still resided in her parents' house, but the garden—and the friends who remembered it—had all but vanished. When a local garden designer offered to help bring it back, Welty began remembering the flowers that had grown in what she called “my mother's garden.” By the time Welty died, that gardener, Susan Haltom, was leading a historic restoration. When Welty's private papers were released several years after her death, they confirmed that the writer had sought both inspiration and a creative outlet there. This book contains many previously unpublished writings, including literary passages and excerpts from Welty's private correspondence about the garden. The authors of One Writer's Garden also draw connections between Welty's gardening and her writing. They show how the garden echoed the prevailing style of Welty's mother's generation, which in turn mirrored wider trends in American life: Progressive-era optimism, a rising middle class, prosperity, new technology, women's clubs, garden clubs, streetcar suburbs, civic beautification, conservation, plant introductions, and garden writing. The authors illustrate this garden's history—and the broader story of how American gardens evolved in the early twentieth century—with images from contemporary garden literature, seed catalogs, and advertisements, as well as unique historic photographs. Noted landscape photographer Langdon Clay captures the restored garden through the seasons.

This book accompanies the exhibition "Writing the Garden" organized in 2011 by the New York Society Library.

Chances are, whether you're a seasoned author or an aspiring scribe, you've grappled with your share of rejection, setbacks, and heartbreak. However, literary agents say the number one key to writing success is perseverance in the face of disappointment. Daily Writing Resilience provides advice, inspiration, and techniques to help you turn roadblocks into steppingstones. You'll find tips and support through exercises such as meditation, breath work, yoga, stress management, gratitude, de-cluttering, sleep, exercise, mindful eating, and more. These 365 meditations will help you navigate the ups-and-downs of your writing practice, creating positive habits that will guide you toward the success and fulfillment that you've been seeking. Praise: "This must-have collection of inspirational nuggets will nudge you free of writer's block. Even if you're not blocked, a morning commune with some of writing's great minds will put you in the right creative space."—Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants "Every person with that little voice in their head—the one that tells them to write everyday—must own this book. Every page is full of hope and reality, just what we all need to keep us going."—Steve Berry, New York Times and # 1 Internationally bestselling author of The Patriot Threat "For every type of writer—new, old, fresh, tired, impassioned, cynical, hopeful . . . this gem is flat out inspiring."—M.J. Rose, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Language of Stones "Bryan Robinson's Daily Writing Resilience is not only wise but also marvelously practical. The daily mantras he offers, taken from the experiences of those who've kept to the path, will provide much needed encouragement along the way. Take this book to heart, and then take it with you wherever you go."—William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of the multi-award winning Ordinary Grace and the Cork O'Connor series "You don't have to be a writer to treasure Daily Writing Resilience, a unique and uplifting meditation book. It's chock-full of insights so profound you'll be tempted to gobble it up in one bite!"—Cassandra King, author of The Sunday Wife and Moonrise "I urge both fledgling and experienced writers to get their hands on Daily Writing Resilience and keep it nearby for handy reference. Bryan Robinson knows his way around the head and heart of the working writer, and this book is a wonderful companion and a balm to the writer's soul."—John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author "At last! A real tool for real writers, a reference book that should be on every writer's desk next to their Thesaurus and Strunk & White Elements of Style. A practical guide that can be used as a daily devotional or motivational tool to hold your hand, to guide you, to encourage you, and to pull you back from the ledge."—Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of Flight Patterns A 2018 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalist A 2018 Top Shelf Magazine Indie Book Award Finalist

From Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Marcel Proust, from Marguerite Duras to George Sand, from Colette to Patrick Modiano, gardens appear in novels as representations of the real world, but also as reflections of the imagination. In Paper Gardens: A Stroll through French Literature, Évelyne Bloch-Dano contemplates the role of the garden in the work of great prose writers, ruminating on how the garden can variously symbolize a reflection of the soul, a well-earned rest, an improving form of work, a nostalgia for childhood, and the dream of an ideal world. The charming and erudite first section focuses on history and is devoted to types of gardens ranging from the biblical Garden of Eden to English parklands; the second perceptively considers their role in literary works. Concealed within these cultivated wanderings is also an element of autobiography. Lovers of literature and gardening alike will fall in love with this beautifully written meditation.