The Muse & the Marketplace 2016

Long after most of the details of a plot are forgotten, descriptive passages can define a particular book in our memory, or even an author’s entire work. What makes an image indelible? How much description is too much? More importantly: how can we put description to work in furthering character development, theme, and plot? We’ll think about this through examples of great description ranging from Proust to Marilynne Robinson.