A collection of critical essays offers concise portraits and analyses of contemporary writers, blending biographical detail, close readings, and reflections on aesthetic theory. The prefatory remarks argue that form emerges from content rather than existing a priori, and successive pieces apply that credo to figures and texts, noting stylistic qualities, creative habits, and psychological tendencies. The volume alternates theoretical statements with literary sketches that weigh strengths and weaknesses, traces developmental notes from notebooks and journals, and situates individual works within broader artistic tendencies.