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List of contents
I. ASPECTS OF THE GENRE.
1. Literary Nonfiction: What Makes It Distinctive?
2. Six Basic Forms of Literary Nonfiction: An Overview.
3. Plunging In: Getting Started.
4. Theme: What's Your Point?
5. Creating Structure.
6. Literary Concerns: Style, Tone, Suggestion.
7. Ethical Questions: How Much Is Real?
8. Active Reading: How to Learn from Others.
II. ANALYSIS: CASE STUDIES.
9. Personal Experience: Focus on Characterization.
Snakebit, Connie Wienecke.
10. Personal Experience Continued: Focus on Theme.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Christopher Clausen. For discussion: Catholics, Gary Soto.
11. Biographical Sketches: Light and Serious.
The Hip Plumber, James D. Houston. My Father's Body, Christopher Buckley.
12. Biographical Sketch for Discussion.
The Day After That, Tzivia Gover.
13. Opinions: Direct and Indirect.
The Coldness of E-Mail, Destiny Ward. For discussion: Strong Stories, Joseph Bruchac.
14. Reflections: Discursive Writing with a Purpose.
Stone's Throw, Jackson Jodie Daviss. For discussion: Total Laryngitis, Trinie Dalton.
15. A Sense of Place.
On Leaving Florida, Marjorie Sandor. For discussion: The Rise and Fall of Rodney, James Bertram.
16. A Glimpse of History.
Captain Hind the Highwayman, C.V. Wedgwood. For discussion: The Key, Stephen Minot.
Appendix A: Submitting Material.
Appendix B: Further Reading.
Appendix C: Notes on Contributors.
Glossary/Index.
About the author
STEPHEN MINOT, Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside, has been teaching creative writing for thirty years. A writer himself, Minot has authored three novels, two collections of short stories, and three textbooks. His numerous short stories have appeared in such publications as The Atlantic, Harper's, The Kenyan Review, The Paris Review, and The Sewanee Review, among others. His work has been chosen to appear in The O. Henry Prize Stories collection, The Best American Short Stories, The Story, and New American Stories. Over the course of his career, Professor Minot has been the recipient of the Atlantic First Award as well as the Saxton Memorial Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for writing.
Summary
For courses in Creative Nonfiction Writing; also appropriate for Freshman Composition courses.
This text is an introduction to literary or creative nonfiction and to the art of writing fresh and original work. It defines the genre in clear terms, describes what makes it “literary” as opposed to “utilitarian,” and specifies what is and what is not honest writing. Illustrating the six basic types of literary nonfiction with one or more short essays and a chapter devoted to each, this text analyzes how they can be used to create the student's own approach.
