Gary Dexter FENCES AND GATES, WALKWAYS, WALLS AND
Gary Dexter FENCES AND GATES, WALKWAYS, WALLS AND DRIVES (1983) E Annie Proulx is the Pulitzer Prizewinning author of The Shipping News and Broke back Mountain: she has also won the PEN/Faulkner Award, the 0. Henry Award and the Dos Passos Prize, and is thus one of the most lauded of all American writers. But her literary apprenticeship was spent writing a number of practical selfhelp manuals. They include Sweet and Hard Cider: Making It, Using It and Enjoying It; The Complete Daily Foods Cookbook: How to Make Everything from Cheese to Custard in Your Kitchen; The Gourmet Gardener: Growing Choice Fruits and Vegetables with Spectacular Results; and Plan and Make Your Own Fences and Gates, Walkways, Walls and Drives. The back cover of the latter informs us that 'Annie keeps livestock, hunts, fishes, plays the fiddle and is an expert on country crafts. She also writes books...' It begins with a chapter entitled 'Give In to the Urge to Arrange and Improve', which is, in a nutshell, the Tao of Proulx. In her hands, DIY, far from being a wearisome chore, is the height of voluptuousness.
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