
Pre-Owned Pirates You Don't Know, and Other Adventures in the Examined Life : Collected Essays 9780820346786
Key item features
- ISBN: 9780820346786
- Condition: Pre-Owned: Good
- Trade paperback
- Language: English
- Pages: 224
- Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 224 p.
- For nearly ten years John Griswold has been publishing his essays in Inside Higher Ed, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Brevity, Ninth Letter, and Adjunct Advocate, many under the pen name Oronte Churm. Churm's topics have ranged widely, exploring themes such as the writing life and the utility of creative-writing classes, race issues in a university town, and the beautiful, protective crocodiles that lie patiently waiting in the minds of fathers. Though Griswold recently entered the tenure stream, much of his experience, at a Big Ten university, has been as an adjunct lecturer - that tenuous and uncertain position so many now occupy in higher education. In Pirates You Don't Know, Griswold writes poignantly and hilariously about the contingent nature of this life, tying it to his birth in the last American enclave in Saigon during the Vietnam War, his upbringing in a coal town in southern Illinois, and his experience as an army deep-sea diver and frogman. He investigates class in America through four generations of his family and portrays the continuing joys and challenges of fatherhood while making a living, becoming literate, and staying open to the world. But Griswold's central concerns apply to everyone: What does it mean to be educated? What does it mean to think, feel, create, and be whole? What is the point of this particular journey? Pirates You Don't Know is Griswold's vital attempt at making sense of his life as a writer and now professor. The answers for him are both comic and profound: "Picture Long John Silver at the end of the movie, his dory filled with stolen gold, rowing and sinking; rowing, sinking, and gloating."
Specs
- Book formatPaperback
- Fiction/nonfictionNon-Fiction
- GenreLiterature & Fiction
- Publication dateMarch, 2014
- Pages224
- Original languagesEnglish
- Free shipping
Free 30-day returns
How do you want your item?
About this item
Product details
- ISBN: 9780820346786
- Condition: Pre-Owned: Good
- Trade paperback
- Language: English
- Pages: 224
- Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 224 p.
- For nearly ten years John Griswold has been publishing his essays in Inside Higher Ed, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Brevity, Ninth Letter, and Adjunct Advocate, many under the pen name Oronte Churm. Churm's topics have ranged widely, exploring themes such as the writing life and the utility of creative-writing classes, race issues in a university town, and the beautiful, protective crocodiles that lie patiently waiting in the minds of fathers. Though Griswold recently entered the tenure stream, much of his experience, at a Big Ten university, has been as an adjunct lecturer - that tenuous and uncertain position so many now occupy in higher education. In Pirates You Don't Know, Griswold writes poignantly and hilariously about the contingent nature of this life, tying it to his birth in the last American enclave in Saigon during the Vietnam War, his upbringing in a coal town in southern Illinois, and his experience as an army deep-sea diver and frogman. He investigates class in America through four generations of his family and portrays the continuing joys and challenges of fatherhood while making a living, becoming literate, and staying open to the world. But Griswold's central concerns apply to everyone: What does it mean to be educated? What does it mean to think, feel, create, and be whole? What is the point of this particular journey? Pirates You Don't Know is Griswold's vital attempt at making sense of his life as a writer and now professor. The answers for him are both comic and profound: "Picture Long John Silver at the end of the movie, his dory filled with stolen gold, rowing and sinking; rowing, sinking, and gloating."
What is Pre-Owned: Good?
What is the Walmart Pre-Owned Program?
Walmart Pre-Owned allows you to find previously owned, well-cared-for items from Walmart’s trusted & performance-managed sellers. Shopping Pre-Owned allows you to bring home the best-quality picks at even lower prices, in addition to extending the life of an item & reducing waste. Find your favorites & shop a range of conditions in every category.
Why Walmart Pre-Owned?
Trusted sellers & quality items
Each Pre-Owned item listed comes from Walmart’s trusted performance-managed sellers, to ensure you get quality items.

Quality you can afford
Save even more on top brands & your most-loved items.

30-day free returns
Don’t love it? Most items offer a 30-day* free return policy, for added peace of mind.
Sustainability
Shopping Pre-Owned helps in extending the life of an item & reducing waste.
Product image for illustration purposes only. The item you receive may vary from the image in minor ways, such as slight differences in appearance, color, and/or design. *Exceptions apply during holiday season, and on certain electronics, collectibles, and jewelry.
Pre-Owned: Good
What is the Walmart Pre-Owned Program?
Walmart Pre-Owned allows you to find previously owned, well-cared-for items from Walmart’s trusted & performance-managed sellers. Shopping Pre-Owned allows you to bring home the best-quality picks at even lower prices, in addition to extending the life of an item & reducing waste. Find your favorites & shop a range of conditions in every category.
Why Walmart Pre-Owned?

Trusted sellers & quality items
Each Pre-Owned item listed comes from Walmart’s trusted performance-managed sellers, to ensure you get quality items.
Quality you can afford
Save even more on top brands & your most-loved items.

30-day free returns
Don’t love it? Most items offer a 30-day* free return policy, for added peace of mind.

Sustainability
Shopping Pre-Owned helps in extending the life of an item & reducing waste.
Product image for illustration purposes only. The item you receive may vary from the image in minor ways, such as slight differences in appearance, color, and/or design. *Exceptions apply during holiday season, and on certain electronics, collectibles, and jewelry.
Specifications
Book format
Fiction/nonfiction
Genre
Publication date
Warranty
Warranty information
Similar items you might like
Based on what customers bought
Pre-Owned Ensemble, C'est Tout $5.96 Was $18.84
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$596current price $5.96, Was $18.84$18.84Pre-Owned Ensemble, C'est Tout
183.6 out of 5 Stars. 18 reviewsPre-Owned My Seneca Village Paperback $6.47
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$647current price $6.47Pre-Owned My Seneca Village Paperback
Pre-Owned Precepts For Living: The UMI Annual Bible Commentary 2018-2019 (Unknown) 1683531051 9781683531050 $6.58
$658current price $6.58Pre-Owned Precepts For Living: The UMI Annual Bible Commentary 2018-2019 (Unknown) 1683531051 9781683531050
Pre-Owned The Assassin (Mass Market Paperback) 0786018011 9780786018017 $3.99
3 optionsAvailable in additional 3 options$399current price $3.99Pre-Owned The Assassin (Mass Market Paperback) 0786018011 9780786018017
Pre-Owned Just Like Family 9781629914701 Used $6.47
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$647current price $6.47Pre-Owned Just Like Family 9781629914701 Used
Pre-Owned Winter's Bone $4.85 Was $13.99
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$485current price $4.85, Was $13.99$13.99Pre-Owned Winter's Bone
Pre-Owned The Mind of Christ 9780913367834 Used $6.25
$625current price $6.25Pre-Owned The Mind of Christ 9780913367834 Used
Pre-Owned Master of the Game 9780688013653 $6.64
$664current price $6.64Pre-Owned Master of the Game 9780688013653
Pre-Owned Blood Will Tell: A Point Last Seen Mystery (Paperback) 1250080010 9781250080011 $5.95
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$595current price $5.95Pre-Owned Blood Will Tell: A Point Last Seen Mystery (Paperback) 1250080010 9781250080011
Pre-Owned Our Founding Foods (Paperback) 1595435913 9781595435910 $6.37
$637current price $6.37Pre-Owned Our Founding Foods (Paperback) 1595435913 9781595435910
Pre-Owned Little Cooks: Fun and easy recipes to make with your kids Paperback Erin Quon, Tatum Quon $5.66
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$566current price $5.66Pre-Owned Little Cooks: Fun and easy recipes to make with your kids Paperback Erin Quon, Tatum Quon
Pre-Owned Barbara Cartland : Three Complete Novels 9780517119280 $7.28
$728current price $7.28Pre-Owned Barbara Cartland : Three Complete Novels 9780517119280
15 out of 5 Stars. 1 reviewsPre-Owned The Scent Keeper: A Novel Paperback Erica Bauermeister $17.14
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$1714current price $17.14Pre-Owned The Scent Keeper: A Novel Paperback Erica Bauermeister
Pre-Owned I Got The Rhythm (Paperback) 0545831768 9780545831765 $4.98
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$498current price $4.98Pre-Owned I Got The Rhythm (Paperback) 0545831768 9780545831765
Pre-Owned Homo Deus : A Brief History of Tomorrow 9780062464316 $7.47
$747current price $7.47Pre-Owned Homo Deus : A Brief History of Tomorrow 9780062464316
Pre-Owned If He's Tempted (Mass Market Paperback) 1420118803 9781420118803 $5.98
$598current price $5.98Pre-Owned If He's Tempted (Mass Market Paperback) 1420118803 9781420118803
Pre-Owned Brawl of the Wild 9781338236576 $6.64
$664current price $6.64Pre-Owned Brawl of the Wild 9781338236576
Pre-Owned Don't Waste Your Life $3.99 Was $4.60
3 optionsAvailable in additional 3 options$399current price $3.99, Was $4.60$4.60Pre-Owned Don't Waste Your Life


