Writing Creative Nonfiction

by Forche, Carolyn

• ISBN13: 9781884910500
• ISBN10: 1884910505
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE

Summary

Writing Creative Nonfiction presents more than thirty essays on today's hottest literary form--creative nonfiction. the stellar line-up of contributors includes Philip Lopate, William Least-Heat Moon, Diane Ackerman, Ted Conover, Dinty Moore and many others. From researching ideas and structuring the story, to reportage and personal reflection, this book covers every key element of the craft. Each essay is followed by three exercises for hands-on learning. * An impressive line up of the best teachers from the finest writing programs throughout the country * Creative nonfiction titles are hot--with new books hitting the bestseller lists everyday! * the AWP's role guarantees strong consumer and academic interest Carolyn Forché is one of the most widely respected poets in the country, with her books the Country Between Us and the Angel of History ranking among the top collections published in recent years. She teaches in the MFA program at George Mason University. Philip Gerard is the author of three novels, a memoir and two books of writing instruction for Story Press: Creative Nonfiction and Writing a Book that Makes a Difference. A past president of AWP, Gerard teaches in the MFA program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Creative Nonfiction: An Adventure in Lyric, Fact, and Story	1	(5)
Carolyn Forche
Philip Gerard
I. THE ART, THE CRAFT, THE BUSINESS
Why I Write	6	(2)
Terry Tempest Williams
But Tell It Slant: From Poetry to Prose and Back Again	8	(6)
Judith Ortiz Cofer
A Braided Heart: Shaping the Lyric Essay	14	(11)
Brenda Miller
Saying Good-Bye to ``Once Upon a Time,'' or Implementing Postmodernism in Creative Nonfiction	25	(9)
Laura Wexler
Finding a Story, or Using the Whole Pig	34	(4)
Alan Cheuse
Writing Personal Essays: On the Necessity of Turning Oneself Into a Character	38	(7)
Phillip Lopate
Researching Your Own Life	45	(5)
Michael Pearson
Taking Yourself Out of the Story: Narrative Stance and the Upright Pronoun	50	(7)
Philip Gerard
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner	57	(10)
Robin Hemley
As Time Goes By: Creating Biography	67	(18)
Philip Furia
Twelve Years and Counting: Writing Biography	85	(12)
Honor Moore
Not the Killing but Why	97	(4)
Beverly Lowry
Every Hell Is Different: Notes on War Writing	101	(3)
Christopher Merrill
The ``New'' Literature	104	(10)
Carolyn Forche
Surviving Overseas	114	(8)
Bob Reiss
The Comfortable Chair: Using Humor in Creative Nonfiction	122	(8)
Dinty W. Moore
Getting Published	130	(10)
Stanley L. Colbert
Avoiding Self-Censorship: A Guide to the Detection of Legal Land Mines	140	(18)
Nicholas S. Hentoff
Harvey A. Silverglate
II. AFTERSHOCKS---RESPONSES TO THE GENRE
Learning to Breathe After the Memoir	158	(4)
E. Ethelbert Miller
Excerpts From Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer	162	(2)
E. Ethelbert Miller
One Nation, Under the Weather	164	(6)
Lauren Slater
Becoming the Godfather of Creative Nonfiction	170	(12)
Lee Gutkind
III. CREATIVE NONFICTION READER
The Woman Who Slept With One Eye Open	182	(9)
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Basha Leah	191	(14)
Brenda Miller
Excerpt from ``Tacos and Manna''	205	(9)
Alan Cheuse
Portrait of My Body	214	(9)
Phillip Lopate
What They Don't Tell You About Hurricanes	223	(7)
Philip Gerard
Excerpt From Irving Berlin: A Life in Song	230	(10)
Philip Furia
It was a time of hope, that was the thing (1927-1930)	240	(16)
Honor Moore
The Shadow Knows	256	(14)
Beverly Lowry
All Things Censored: The Poem NPR Doesn't Want You to Hear	270	(7)
Martin Espada
Prisoner AM-8335: A Postscript	277	(6)
Martin Espada
Sarajevo I	283	(16)
Christopher Merrill
Emergence	299	(8)
Carolyn Forche
Ah, Wilderness! Humans, Hawks, and Environmental Correctness on the Muddy Rio Grande	307	(12)
Dinty W. Moore
Maps	319	(8)
Julie Checkoway
Murder	327	(4)
Barry Lopez
Going Back to Bisbee	331	(26)
Richard Shelton
Flying in the Middle of Art	357	(11)
Annie Dillard
Contributors	368	(6)
Index	374