Mary Hartje Angelo State University
“Reading the Memoir: Challenges of Teaching Creative Nonfictionâ€
This is a live blogging of the session.
nonfiction always a vital genre
5th c autobio emerged with Confessions of St Augustine
Memoir: A History Ben Yagoda 2009
might have carefully studied essays, but my experience was void of reading nonfiction
learning experience
some of same techniques as in poetry, drama, etc
start a study with the history
2009
memoir v. autobiography
admits he uses them interchangeably
a book understood by all as a factual account of authors life
however memoir can be used to cover entire life or part of it
Confessions was first.
Confessional works, spiritual memoir genre, popular with 21st C readers
20 types of memoirs
conversion and captivity- 17th, 18th
trauma and celebrity- 20th C
works refer to actual people, events, and facts
within nonfiction: traditional and literary
traditional = journalism, criticism, technical writing
literary = diary, journal, memoir, essay, autobiography
form of creative nonfiction is malleable, expressive writing
works of creative nonfiction share a number of somewhat objective for defining and assessing creative nonfiction —
from Root and Steinberg The Fourth Genre
personal presence
not debatable
work reflects self-discovery and self-expression
standard literary analysis of character
memoirist is the narrator, narrator is telling own story
Bruce Ballinger “this difference… lack of gaps… most distinguishes … the memoirâ€
veracity
factual truth of the story is fundamental to its authenticity
how keenly we feel that
based on memory, how does memory work, limitations
David James Duncan “Non-Fiction Equals Fictionâ€
“every creature… is distorted before it reaches us by mirages… best … imperfect images…â€
truth may not be veracious enough to take to court, must meet writer’s needs
“Autobiography in the Age of Narcisissm†impossible to avoid self-justification
Tobias Wolff, This Boy’s Life
effective memoirist creates
reader can sense if there is an attempt to be real
Angel above humanity, person in the middle.
creating an awareness of the tone on truth
What devices does the author use to gain our trust or substantiate the truth in the memoir?
The Liar’s Club she id’s what she does remember, doesn’t remember, thinks happened
We trust Karr because she is honest about her memories.
sense of truth in the telling
veracity of a memoir = tone and stylistic details
parallels reliable narrator in fiction
unreliable narrator undermines truth here though
flexibility of form
dramatic, expository, argumentative
draws on narrative chronology
also on non-linear (Julia Alvarez’s Time of the Butterflies)
story in past, being thought of in present, read in the future
nonfiction prose– rich variety of literary voices
can tolerate rhythms, rhymes, discursive ideas, as well as stories and metaphors
poets can be authors of amazing nonfiction
tension, irony, tone, setting… all used … foreshadowing in Wolff’s This Boy’s Life
“as Dwight drove them back to Seattle he stopped on the bridge… the salmon… were already dyingâ€
Dwight’s description of the salmon distinctly foreshadows the death of the dreams of Wolfe and his mother
I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings Maya Angelou
black sleeve usher… couldn’t distinguish… hearing the odor of death
introduced to death and own mortality
rich variety of literary voices
Each work presents its own challenges.
Dispatches by Michael Herr, journalist in Vietnam
students had to confront unusual context:
war
stances on war
technical military language
drug culture of the 60s
battles
Teaching the memoir was valuable. As teachers, we are always students. Observing and analyzing from a fresher perspective.
Mary Karr came to ASU Writer’s Conference in 2010 interview is in Concho River Review
wants to write a book about memoir, sometime between E.M. Forester book and John Gardner’s work on novel
Crafting Truth probably also intended for writing creative nonfiction
Students fascinated by nonfiction study. Wanted to see where nonfiction and fiction diverge and how they overlap.
Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried
A River Runs Through It
both of these say they are writing fiction, even though they are written based on truth