By Liza Monroy |
These days, essayist Annabelle Gurwitch (
You’re Leaving When?, Counterpoint, Apr.) appreciates writing that offers closure. “With the pandemic, everything’s taking so much longer,” she says. “It seems harder to complete tasks, but reading essays and short stories, I get that beginning, middle, and end experience.”
Personal essays in particular can offer a welcome sense of connection with the writer, say other practitioners of the form. “One of the things I miss most about having a social life is meeting a new friend, or reconnecting with an old one,” says Melissa Febos (
Girlhood, Bloomsbury, Mar.). “The best essays give me that feeling.”