KnitLit (too)

February 1, 2004
A warm, good-hearted collection of short pieces about knitting, knitters and the fiber arts world, this follow-up to last year's KnitLit is a perfect volume for knitters who love to read or readers who love to knit. The book's strength lies in the diversity of its pieces, which range from folksinger Christine Lavin's meditation on knitting in a post-9/11 world,"Learning to Knit at Fifty," to Dawn Goldsmith's ode to her knitting husband,"Real Men Knit." Other pieces--such as Laurie Clark's humorously frank essay"What Do You Do with A Dead Sheep?"--discuss knitting arcana or explain how knitting has become part of the author's spiritual practice or worldview. Some pieces stand out for the beauty of their prose: Kay Dorn's lament for her broken family,"A Different Time"; Leslea Newman's sharp, bitter story,"Sweaters"; and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's funny, linguistically inventive tale,"Our Knitting Heroine." There are a few duds, but overall the quality is excellent; by selecting such high caliber non-fiction and fiction, this niche collection masters the difficult trick of intriguing a broad audience. In fact, even readers who might never pick up a pair of needles are likely to enjoy this collection. Knit one, purl one, read one. Why not?

January 5, 2004
A warm, good-hearted collection of short pieces about knitting, knitters and the fiber arts world, this follow-up to last year's KnitLit is a perfect volume for knitters who love to read or readers who love to knit. The book's strength lies in the diversity of its pieces, which range from folksinger Christine Lavin's meditation on knitting in a post-9/11 world,"Learning to Knit at Fifty," to Dawn Goldsmith's ode to her knitting husband,"Real Men Knit." Other pieces--such as Laurie Clark's humorously frank essay"What Do You Do with A Dead Sheep?"--discuss knitting arcana or explain how knitting has become part of the author's spiritual practice or worldview. Some pieces stand out for the beauty of their prose: Kay Dorn's lament for her broken family,"A Different Time"; Leslea Newman's sharp, bitter story,"Sweaters"; and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's funny, linguistically inventive tale,"Our Knitting Heroine." There are a few duds, but overall the quality is excellent; by selecting such high caliber non-fiction and fiction, this niche collection masters the difficult trick of intriguing a broad audience. In fact, even readers who might never pick up a pair of needles are likely to enjoy this collection. Knit one, purl one, read one. Why not?

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