5 Years of 4th Genre

In 1999, Michigan State University Press launched Fourth Genre: Explorations in Creative Nonfiction , a journal devoted to publishing notable, innovative work in nonfiction. The title reflected our intention to give nonfiction its due as a literary genre - to give writers of the Fourth Genre a showcase for their work and to give our readers a place to find the liveliest and most creative works in the form. Given the genre’s flexibility and expansiveness, journal editors Michael Steinberg and David Cooper have welcomed a variety of works - ranging from personal essays and memoirs to literary journalism and personal criticism. The essays are lyrical, self-interrogative, meditative, and reflective, as well as expository, analytical, exploratory, or whimsical. In short, Fourth Genre encourages a writer-to-reader conversation, one that explores the markers and boundaries of literary/creative nonfiction. Since its inaugural issue, contributors to Fourth Genre have earned many literary awards: 5 Notable Essays of the Year (Best American Essay); the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award; Notable Essay of the Year (Best American Travel Writing); and 4 Pushcart Prizes.
Five Years of Fourth Genre is a celebration of this significant literary journal. Culling a selection of some of the most creative of Fourth Genre’s first five years - the Pushcart winners are here, as well as those essays that are unique, those that tell us something new, those that startle us, and those that touch our hearts - we present a representative sampling.