In a celebration of the functional and the handmade, potter Ronald Larsen has gathered an engaging collection of essays, stories, poems, and observations by a wide range of potters, writers, philosophers, and other artisans, exploring the history, aesthetics, and philosophy behind making pots--or anything else--by hand. Includes, among others, the writings of: Marguerite Wildenhain--A Potter"s Philosophy Octavio Paz--Use and Contemplation Lafcadio Hearn--The Tale of the Porcelain-God John Updike--From the Journal of a Leper Jamake Highwater--Illusions of Originality Wallace Stevens--Anecdote of the Jar Bernard Leach--The Potter"s Challenge