Annie Dillard Brought Poetry Into Prose, Pioneering a Mystical Form of Creative Nonfiction that Critics Both Admired and Misunderstood

Keeping Score: Texas GOP Candidate Brandon Herrera’s Vile Attack on Mothers and Children; Rest in Power Gloria, Dolly, Robin Morgan, Annie Dillard and More

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup. This week: —The Trump administration proposed a rule that would eliminate quality standards for the Head Start preschool program. —Todd Blanche was confirmed as attorney seneral, after promising to re…

Remembering Annie Dillard, nature writer

With her 1974 book, "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek," Annie Dillard became the youngest woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. We take a moment to remember her and her work.

Annie Dillard brought poetry into prose, pioneering a mystical form of creative nonfiction that critics both admired and misunderstood

Annie Dillard is rightly celebrated as a pioneer in creative nonfiction after her death on Sep. 15, 2026, at age 81. But the dazzling, disorienting feel of Dillard’s work might be best understood as the often overlooked influence of poetry on her prose. Dillard published her first full-length work of creative nonfiction, “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” when she was only 28. Winning her the 1975 Pulitzer Prize, this early book set the tone for her lat…

The Jewish soul and Hasidic inspirations of Annie Dillard

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Annie Dillard, who died Sept, 15 at age 81, drew on Jewish inspiration past and present for her meditative books on humans and the deity, including the nature-imbued narrative Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Raised a Presbyterian, in young adulthood Dillard discovered Martin Buber’s Tales of the Hasidim, in which she found a kindred spirit among Hasidic rabbis who, according to legend, would turn somersaults and do car…

Annie Dillard’s unrestrained hallelujah

The visionary writer showed us that paying attention could make us certain that the world is...