Metawritings

by Talbot, Jill

• ISBN13: 9781609380892
• ISBN10: 1609380894
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-15
• Publisher: Univ of Iowa Pr

Summary

Metawriting-the writing about writing or writing that calls attention to itself as writing-has been around since Don Quixoteand Tristram Shandy, but Jill Talbot makes that case that now more than ever the act of metawriting is performed on a daily basis by anyone with a Facebook profile, a Twitter account, or a webpage. Metawritings: Toward a Theory of Nonfictionis the first collection to combine metawriting in both fiction and nonfiction. In this daring volume, metawriting refers to writing about writing, veracity in writing, the Iof writing and, ultimately, the construction of writing. With a prologue by Pam Houston, the anthology of personal essays, short stories, and one film script excerpt also includes illuminating and engaging interviews with each contributor. Showcasing how writers perform a meta-awareness of self via the art of the story, the craft of the essay, the writings and interviews in this collection serve to create an engaging, provocative discussion of the fiction-versus-nonfiction debate, truth in writing, and how metawriting works (and when it doesn't). Metawritingsprovides a context for the presence of metawriting in contemporary literature within the framework of the digital age's obsessively self-conscious modes of communication: status updates, Tweets, YouTube clips, and blogs (whose anonymity creates opportunities for outright deception) capture our meta-lives in 140 characters and video uploads, while we watch self-referential, self-conscious television ( The Simpsons, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Office). Speaking to the moment and to the writing that is capturing it, Talbot addresses a significant and current conversation in contemporary writing and literature, the teaching of writing, and the craft of writing. It is a sharp, entertaining collection of two genres, enhanced by a conversation about how we write and how we live in and through our writing. Contributors Sarah Blackman Bernard Cooper Cathy Day Lena Dunham Robin Hemley Pam Houston Kristen Iversen David Lazar E. J. Levy Brenda Miller Ander Monson Brian Oliu Jill Talbot Ryan Van Meter

Author Biography

Jill Talbot is author of Loaded: Women and Addiction and coeditor of The Art of Friction: Where (Non)Fictions Come Together. Her work has appeared in journals such as Notre Dame Review, Under the Sun, Blue Mesa Review, Cimarron Review, Segue, and Ecotone. She is also a Bookslut contributor. She teaches nonfiction at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Prologue: Corn Maze	p. ix
Meta-Introduction	p. xxi
I Was There	p. 1
Interview with Ryan Van Meter	p. 9
Genesis; or the Day Adam Killed the Snakes	p. 13
Interview with Cathy Day	p. 18
The Facts of the Matter	p. 21
Interview with Anonymous	p. 29
The Girl is a Fiction	p. 37
Interview with Sarah Blackman	p. 41
On Dating	p. 47
Interview with David Lazar	p. 55
The Dog at the Edge of the World	p. 61
Interview with Brenda Miller	p. 65
Facing the Monolith	p. 68
Interview with Ander Monson	p. 112
The Pickpocket Project	p. 115
Interview with Robin Hemley	p. 133
Excerpts from Creative Nonfiction	p. 139
Interview with Lena Dunham	p. 163
Winner Take Nothing	p. 167
Interview with Bernard Cooper	p. 184
Adventure Island	p. 187
Interview with Brian Oliu	p. 188
How to Be Tough in Creative Nonfiction	p. 195
Interview with Kristen Iversen	p. 202
Contributors	p. 209
Permissions	p. 213
Index	p. 215
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