Reading Response-"Goodbye to All That"

A lot of praise should be given to the writer who can write non-fiction that is actually interesting. I don't know why, but I feel that there is a difficulty in writing what is real and captivating your reader at the same time. When writing fiction, you can be creative and have this wild imagination and pretty much go wherever you want, no matter how bizarre it might seem. Non fiction, more specifically personal essays and memoirs, for the most part have to stick to the truth and only through great writing, can someone make truth seem interesting and not boring. Also, when writing non fiction, I have a fear of writing more for myself and less for the reader-this may or may not make sense. A reader is not going to be captivated by a piece if it doesn't they don't get anything out of the story-whether it be humor, or a life lesson. When I read a boring piece of non fiction, my mind wanders because I can not relate to anything and nothing grabs my attention. Now, how does this spiel relate to "Goodbye To All That"? It relates, because I found this to be an excellent piece of non fiction. It relates because I can relate. This story is basically about Joan Didion's life in New York during her twenties. It is about being young and completely in love with the "magic" of the city. As I will soon be entering my twenties, I dream of moving and making memories in the city as a young and bright eyed twenty-something. Even though Joan Didion's story isn't all about the excitement of New York, as she did deal with depression for a while, her relatable story along with witty writing helps me (the reader) appreciate her sharing a moment of her past.

Reem's Response: E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake"

E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake,” has got to be a classic example of great creative nonfiction. White blends his experience as a child at the lake with his family and his own experience as a father taking his son to that same lake years later. By making use of several literary devices , White adds a layer of meaning to his work that wouldn’t have been there if he had chosen to tell of his experiences without making use of the techniques employed. The lake allows for White, as both author and narrator, to discover an essential truth about life. Time is an illusion when one considers how the important things in life remain the same. The tension lies in the way he mentions that some things have changed, and at certain points, you wonder if he is going to conclude that things really do change over time, which makes it that much more story like. He also connects his past with the present and utilizes themes to represent that connection. There is also a kind of universality inherent in his writing and that relates back to the idea we discussed in class: that creative non-fiction is supposed to tell the truth, but also build on that truth in order to add a layer of complexity related to the author’s perception of what that experience means, or some truth that he or she finds in it. I really hope that I can manage to write something that will show how much I appreciate the things I noticed in White’s work.

Readings for Friday, 11/18

readings for next Friday, 11/18

E.B. White, "Once More to the Lake" (Don't worry about the questions at the end)

Joan Didion, "Goodbye to All That"

Kyoko Mori, "The Pleasure of Letting Go" (This piece is from the journal Ploughshares, and you will have to access it through the library. It's from the fall 2010 issue.)

Reading Response - Burroway

For our initial writing 3-2-1 response, I was fortunate enough to glean some information about memoirs by the authors of Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl and Dreaming in Hindi, both of who shared their experiences during the writing and research of their memoir-style writing. The Burroway text enumerated many of the issues that were brought up by some aspiring writers in the crowd. Specifically, I believe one of the questions was regarding 'fact and truth', which was 'how do your family react to what you write?'. Burroway matches the response, and offers some good guidance on this. She states that when it comes to things like memory, the writer is responsible for "honest attempt and honest presentation", because the ability to write the truth is limited when using words. This is kind of the same concept which I think threads through a lot of the book - words are a limiting means of expression.

Another part of the Burroway text which I found interesting (in addition to the fact that basically 'ditto' for the fiction writing guidance) was the concept of authorial intrusion. Not only did this part of the text evoke mental images of the Dukes of Hazzard for me, personally, but it exposed something I hadn't thought about in regards to the topic of 'essay', and that is the authors ability to provide summary interspersed without necessarily being penalized by the reader. Of course, like all writing tools, it must be implemented judiciously, but that is one more tool which I now have available (and plan to use) in the writing arsenal.

Response to Hemingway Profile

After reading the essay about Lillian Ross' "Portrait of Hemingway," I better understand what goes into creating a character profile. Ross, as the essay states, utilizes a "fly on the wall" technique to paint a picture of the writer. While she does incorporate some biographical facts here and there, she mainly chooses to focus on a few motifs that are expressed throughout the article. Hemingway's alcoholism is described matter of factly, and personality traits are formulated not by explicitly stating them, but instead, by what she witnesses directly and how it is that his wife, son, store clerks etcetera are reacting to him. He came off as a know it all with a strong personality: the kind of person that's always right and always has the last word. However, Ross gives us the information subtly. She describes what I find to be annoying traits in Hemingway and contrasts that with reactions from the people around him who seem either not to mind or too timid to say otherwise. I think Ross' technique in creating this kind of subtextual tension is interesting because one could either choose to not notice it, or maybe even genuinely miss it because it is so subtle. She very craftily manages to paint a picture of Hemingway that could be described either as a positive portrayal of the writer, or a negative. What I learned in reading the piece was that writing a profile of someone is comparable to reality TV. Everything in it has happened, but it is up to the editor to create a story from it all.

Reading Response 11

Reading the profile's of Deschanel and Ebert, I found two things. First, would be their easy readability. In both cases, the authors took a very conversational tone. The switch between scene and summary is smooth, but used often. If they had been biopics, I would foresee incredibly awkward transition scenes as the rapid switches between varying past events and the present interview have seemingly little sequential reasoning. The other thing I noticed was the thorough nature of the profiles.
The thoroughness of the two interviews really surprised me. With Deschanel, it not only covered her current projects, but her childhood, her impression on the author, and even a brief touched upon her sister’s acting career and thoughts on acting. Ebert’s profile had a similar omniscience, and I think that’s part of the appeal of a profile. In many ways, they read like third-person limited novels, where the reader gets to not only see the character, but also gets an impression of how he or she sees and feels. That type of knowledge feels intimate, and really makes the piece appealing. It also makes a little anxious to write my own piece. Giving emotions and stances to characters I’ve thought up is one thing -I have full ownership of that- but I’m wary of doing the same for a real person.

Reading Resonse - Zooey Deschanel

     My original impression of what a profile looks like is fortunately radically different from what I saw in Zooey Deschanel's profile. The author, Jada Yuan, goes from topic to topic of Zooey's outreaching life, touching on salient members of it such as the producer of her new show, her husband, her mother, even her critics. I found the profile to be very lucid and gracefully free-flowing - not rigidly transitioning through facets of the subject, but truly embodying a great example of how creative nonfiction looks by employing aestheticism. I guess I'd be pointing out the obvious by saying that this profile was much easier to read than, say, a scientific abstract or an academic essay.
     The profile not only manages to be biographical, but it also seems to peer a bit into the psyche of the subject by going into detail and analyzing the the ideals she represent. The author even discussed how Zooey polarizes women - distinguishing the camp of women who adore her for her bangs and the camp of women who resent her for playing into the "girly-girl" male fantasy. Of course, this is pretty easy to do for such a high-profile actor, one who is prominent in modern culture. Regardless, the depth of the author's writing serves as a great template (at least, how I see it) of what I would be trying to accomplish with this writing assignment.