Richard Goodman

Richard Goodman is the author of French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France, A New York Memoir, The Soul of Creative Writing and The Bicycle Diaries: One New Yorker’s Journey Through 9/11. Of French Dirt, the San Francisco Chronicle said, “It is one of the most charming, perceptive and subtle books ever written about the French by an American.” He co-edited The Gulf South: An Anthology of Environmental Writing. Richard Goodman has written on a variety of subjects for many national publications, including The New York Times, Harvard Review, Creative Nonfiction, River Teeth, Vanity Fair, Saveur and Ascent. He wrote the introduction for Travelers’ Tales Provence. He lives in Louisiana and writes about that in his newsletter: https://richardgoodman.substack.com.

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Richard Goodman Reviews

French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France

“I possess a deep prejudice against anything written by Anglo-Saxons about their lives in or near French villages. So, Richard, I thank you for breaking the spell. I like very much what you wrote.”
–M.F.K. Fisher

“Goodman borrows a plot of land on which to grow a garden, a project that his neighbors view first with curiosity, then with sympathy and a deepening sense of involvement. There’s a genuine sweetness about the way the cucumbers and tomatoes bridge the divide of nationality.”
–Francine Prose, New York Times

A New York Memoir

“One can learn much from this man who feels tender toward cobblestones and old women, nostalgic about a daughter’s childhood, frightened at the prospect of dying alone—a rare individual who, with honesty, sensuousness, and keen observation, turns yearning and remembrance into art.”
–Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue

The Soul of Creative Writing

“Richard Goodman’s marvelous book, The Soul of Creative Writing, will instruct, delight, edify, challenge, reassure, and guide any student of writing to a personal best.”
–Molly Peacock, author of Cornucopia: New & Selected Poems

“Richard Goodman is one of the most generous and astute literary guides I’ve read. This book is a gift to writers.”