Illinois Authors

Bloomsbury USA 2017

Donna Seaman brings to life seven forgotten woman artists: Louise Nevelson, Gertrude Abercrombie, Lois Mailou Jones, Ree Morton, Joan Brown, Christina Ramberg, and Lenore Tawney. These women fought to be treated the same as male artists, to be judged by their work, not their gender or appearance. Seaman reveals what drove them, how they worked, and how they were perceived by others in a world where women were subjects -- not makers -- of art--

University of Georgia Press Athens : 2002

Fourteen unforgettable short stories provoke, illuminate, and startle as they explore our perception of nature and the conflict between wildness and civilization within each of us. As we are recognizing the consequences of the destruction of forests and wetlands, the pillaging of the seas, and the toxicity of industry, we are experiencing profound uncertainty about our relationship with the earth. These stellar short stories by writers such as Barry Lopez, Rick Bass, Margaret Atwood, E. L. Doctorow, Chris Offutt, and others plumb the mystery―as only fiction can―of nature within us and the world of nature that surrounds us. We are nature, in spite of our machines, our plastics, and our artificial ingredients. Yet what do we make of our own nature? Our own wildness? And how do we explain the paradox of our urge to both exploit and protect wilderness? From E. L. Doctorow's shattering tale, "Willi," in which a young boy witnesses adults transformed into animals by the frenzy of sexual lust, to Rick Bass's "Swamp Boy," whose young hero is hounded by a pack of boys incensed by his solitary communion with the wild, to Margaret Atwood's wickedly funny story, "My Life as a Bat," or Kent Meyers's soulful ballad of love regained, "The Heart of the Sky," these memorable stories articulate our deep need for wilderness and the indelible role nature plays in our psychological and spiritual well-being.

Ode Books [S.l.] : 2024

A memoir of reading and working with books by the renowned Booklist editor.With the infectious curiosity of an inveterate bibliophile and the prose of a fine stylist, Donna Seaman charts the course of her early reading years in a book-by-book chronicle of the significance books have held in her life. River of Books recounts Seaman’s journey in becoming an editor for Booklist, a reviewer, an author, and a literary citizen, and lays bare how she nourished both body and soul in working with books. Seaman makes palpable the power and self-recognition that she discovered in a life dedicated to reading.

Paul Dry Books, Philadelphia : 2005

A collection of the author's interviews from her Chicago-based radio program: Open books. They discuss their inspirations, their favorite books, their working and research habits. The author also connects each author's books with other writing, creating constellations of related books and ideas to introduce readers to writing they might not discover on their own.