Revisioning Writers' Talk

Book excerpt: Stressing the social dimensions of composing, this book inquires into the problems of interpreting and representing writers’ talk in both academic and self directed writing groups, arguing for the value of such talk as a distinct mode of knowing that both complements and criticizes more traditional forms of inquiry. Emphasizing the role of writers’ talk in shaping the text that they produce, it discusses the problem of representing and interpreting writers’ talk in the context of composition studies, using feminist theoretical perspectives to illuminate the difficulty in representing the writer as a knowing subject, neither essentialist nor totally constructivist. Revisioning Writers’ Talk also investigates the idea of the social in social-constructivist theories of composing, arguing that they maintain rather than demystify hierarchies of discourse and, in turn, the subjects and objects of composing. Cain’s own story of composing is told in the context of her educational experiences as a writer. Finally, the book discusses the constructions of power and authority by both academic and self-directed writing groups.