3-2-1 Response 2: Carolyn Parkhurst

For my second 3-2-1 response paper I chose to attend a reading by Carolyn Parkhurst on Thursday, November 8, 2011 at the Research Hall room (163) on George Mason Campus at 7:00pm. Ms. Parkhurst read from her most recent novel Nobodies Album. The novel centers on a writer, Octavia, who is trying to excise any personal passages from her original (successful) novels. She is also dealing with the arrest of her estranged son, who is charged with murder, and her own tragedy that has warped her from an idealist to an inveterate cynic. The novel, and by necessity the narrator, is very meta and deals with writing about writing, and what (if anything) is too personal to write about. This meta-cognitive aspect to the work is fascinating, and certainly a very unique thing to write about: writing about writing about writing, and so on.

In addition to the meta aspect of the novel, I felt that the narrator’s voice and the idea of writing as a living thing were two very important pieces of the novel. Octavia the narrator is wonderfully “prickly”, as Parkhurst describes her. She feels compelled to write stories that are bitter and linger in readers minds like the poisoned seeds of some terrible idea. Her own worldview has become warped by tragedy, and so she seems to pass on that way of viewing life through her own works. And that is where the final aspect of the novel comes into play, the idea that words, that writing, is a living thing. Once you put something down on paper that thought escapes to grow in the minds of others, who in turn cultivate it in still other people. There is no way to contain an idea or a thought, and so that is why what Olivia is trying to do is so unusual; if she re-writes her stories’ endings, can she in some way kill the original idea?

There were one or two ideas that I would have liked Ms. Parkhurst to expand on; for instance, what are her own views on what is too personal to write about? Does she feel that any experience is fair game, or does she prefer to limit what she writes about family and friends (unlike David Sedaris in his short story “Repeat After Me”). Additionally, does she view writing as a living thing? And if so, when does it become alive? Is it alive once the thought has entered her mind, or does writing only live when it is shared and allowed to plant ideas in the soil of others’ minds?

I suppose the best way to end this response would be to ask the same question Octavia’s publishers ask her as she sets out on her journey to correct her novel: who would want to read revised endings of successful stories? Would you, or would you, as readers, feel a proprietary interest in the story and reject any executive meddling after the fact—that is, after publishing?

Reading Response: Goodbye to All That

I think Joan Didion does a great job of capturing the readers early on and bringing her experience to life. She crafts a story that is easy to relate to since many people have lived through similar experiences and have dealt with similar issues in the past. She starts out by describing her arrival at New York, the scenes, the atmosphere, and some of the difficulties that she faced. After falling ill shortly after moving to New York, she doesn't even visit a doctor because she doesn't know any. As the essay progresses, despite a rocky start, it becomes very clear that Joan loves New York not because of her comfortable life, but rather because of her newly gained independence. When she is low on cash, she refuses to ask her father for financial aid, demonstrating her desire to be self-sufficient. She also mentions that living seemed like a "game" to her with arbitrary but quite inflexible rules.

Ultimately, I discerned from Didion's essay that when you are young, your perception of a situation can differ greatly from when you retrospectively revisit that same situation. While Joan was younger, she was mesmerized by the glamour and romanticism of New York, but when she looks back at her past experience,her perception changes dramatically. From an outside perspective, she can have a better grasp of the objective facts of her life.

Reading Response 12

Goodbye to All That

I liked this nonfiction piece. It reminded me of myself and my ambitions to go to NYC for school. I agree with author: New York is for the young and not the old or faint of heart for that matter.

This piece definitely falls into the category of creative nonfiction. The author is so vivid with her descriptions, especially smells.  The smells of NYC are what help her to remember the moments during that time of her life.

As I was reading, I felt lost at times because I didn’t know what the author was talking about with some of names used or descriptions. Nonetheless, I got the general idea. My only question is why wasn’t this story about California rather than NYC? She started out writing the story as if she was still her young self in love with NYC but as we later find out, she’s older and not in love anymore. So why not have written a story in the present about California? It is the place she is originally from and where she currently lives (I believe).

Reading Response 12: Joan Didion

I really enjoyed reading "Goodbye To All That" by Joan Didion. Though more of a personal essay than a longer memoir, her story certainly had a memoir-ish feel, especially since each individual scene she recounts (such as her arrival in New York) all seem to lead up to her inevitable disenchantment with the city. You could really tell Didion had a point she wanted to make, that she was reaching to some message from the very first paragraph of the story. This was not some 'what I did for summer vacation' journal, nor was it a page from a diary. Didion obviously crafted what she experienced into a tale. However, unlike E. B. White's "Once More to the Lake" I really understood what she was trying to explain. Not that White didn't have a point to his narrative, simply that it struck me more as a series of reminisces wrapped around the lake and it's apparent permanence in time. Didion, on the other hand, seemed to really want to make a statement, to talk about being young and optimistic and how that optimism can slowly curdle. It was a sad story, especially as I am the age Didion saw as the time when one is most enamored by the illusions of success. It's scary to think that ones hopes can implode over time. However, Didion, I believe, has managed to make something beautiful out of her sadness, and so maybe her optimism wasn't so misplaced after all.

Joan Didion, "Goodbye to All That"

This was a perfectly crafted nonfiction story. It actually seemed more like fiction because of how lively the narrative was. I loved how distinct Joan’s passion was. She was so driven to be successful, on her own, that she refused to ask her father for food money. Even though she always needed money she didn’t worry about it because she realized how many ways she could earn some if she was really desperate. “I could stay up all night and make mistakes, and none of them would count”(Didion, 2). I think that something cool about her style is that she was able to convey a sense confidence and clarity that balanced out her naivety. The fact that she lived in New York for 8 years, but never settled in, was interesting. It was like she was living in a fantasy world and she knew that one day she would wake up and be an adult.

The imagery in this piece is fantastic. Every moment flows into the next as if She’s sitting with you having a casual conversation. Her style is so natural and accessible. I loved her point about having beginnings practically engraved in your brain, but endings can sometimes sneak up on you. Then you wonder where did the time go? How did I get to this new place and become a new person in such a swift motion? I liked how she conveyed youth a being confusing and innocent. When she arrived in New York she was worried about climate change and tipping people incorrectly. She found even mundane things to be beautiful just because it was New York. I loved how Joan integrated the concept of being at the fair too long to describe the 8-year ordeal. At first everything was exciting and breathtaking, but by the end everyone is tired and needs to go home. Her words brought everything to life without hitting me over the head with detail. I found her situations to be very relatable, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Reading Respose

"Goodbye To All That" didnt really capture my attention really, maybe because it is non fiction and it all truth so nothing extrodinary happend that made me want to keep reading. However i do comend the author for her hard work writting this, non fiction is a hard area to write because you cant be creative and say whatever you think sounds good here and there, everything has happend you can only choose the best places to put things and hope that people enjoy it. i do like how she starts in the beginning telling how she already knows that her life is not going to be the same, knowing that just from being in an airport terminal. I think if the author would have placed things differents attention would have been grabbed early on and i would have enjoyed it more

once more to the lake reading response

Once more to the lake was one of the most vivid short stories/essays that I have ever read. His use of imagery is breathtaking. The standard presentation of imagery is a collection of words that work well together to give the reader an idea of what the author is intending to create. This was different. His description was nearly as effective as a color picture. This story is the Mona Lisa of imagery.

Now that I’m done making corny comparisons, I would also like to express my appreciation of the intense metaphor in this piece. The symbols of the groin and the lake speak volumes about the father- son relationship, and also, on a broader level, inspects the general human experience of aging and paternity. One of the benefits of using literary devices effectively is that it delivers the intended point or message clearer than a simple, bland statement of them would, and adds plenty of style to boot.

This reading has inspired a new goal for me: write a short story with imagery this great. Since this goal is impossible, however, I am changing it right now to finding more stories to read that are on par with this one, and pretending that I’m going to actually do the first goal along the way.

Thanks for the assignment professor!