Ronda Leathers Dively retired Southern Illinois University Rhetoric and Composition Professor and writing program administrator is the author of Preludes to Insight: Creativity, Incubation and Expository Writing (Hampton Press, 2006), Invention and Craft: A Guide to College Writing (McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2016) and Creativity and the Paris Review Interviews: A Discourse Analysis of Famous Authors' Composing Practices (Anthem Press, 2022). In addition, she has written numerous articles on expository writing pedagogy and writing program administration.
“I was very pleased to encounter a composition textbook that counters the distinction between academic writing as it exists in many university courses and writing that can be considered ‘creative.’ What particularly impressed me is that each chapter begins by discussing a ‘myth’about writing, a feature that is likely to generate fruitful student discussion and useful insights that can be used in multiple disciplines.” — Irene L. Clark, PhD, Professor of English, Director of the Composition Program, California State University, Northridge, USA “Dively’s book is a game-changer. Unlike similar textbooks, it forefronts and expounds the creative process essential to all successful writing. Perhaps more importantly, it emphasizes the deeper roots of creativity, presenting expository writing as a creative act that transfers to other university courses, and everything beyond.” — Ryan Crawford, Director of First-Year Writing and Lecturer, Department of English, College of Arts & Sciences, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT, USA “Advocates for a greater focus on creativity in the composition classroom will find Invention and Craft a breath of fresh air. Bringing together creativity theory and research in composition pedagogy, Dively provides a framework for incorporating creative writing in the expository writing classroom.” — Brian J. Stone, Associate Professor of English, Director of Writing Programs, Indiana State University, USA