phillip lopate, one of the current gods in creative nonfiction, selected a few century’s worth of essays from seneca to woolf, montaigne to didion. lopate’s introduction to this collection is pivotal to an understanding of the genre. if essays intimidate you, start here. with a little patience, you’ll find something (whether it be mcphee or emerson or white) that will tickle your brain and stoke up thoughts you thought had drowned.