Personal Essay

The focus of the book is the Personal Essay. Philip Lopate gives a short biography about each essayist, explaining their contribution to the Personal Essay. The essay writers come from different times and places and write about a wide variety of subjects. One of the only things that these authors have in common is the Personal Essay.

Food

There are several essays in the book that deal with food. The way that food is used in the essays is different. In one, food is used as a symbol for religion. In another, the essay writer compares food to other lusts that people have.

California

This is the place where Richard Rodriguez grows up. He explains the gay movement here and how it effects the rest of the country.

The Knife

The Knife is the subject of an essay written by Richard Selzer. In this essay the...