Class introductions. Writers share their work in writing classes and to do you need to know the people you are working with - so we spent the first part of class getting to know eachother. Not just names (though that is important), but a little about who we are. Because CNF - in many ways - has a contemplation of truth at its center, this introduction exercise was set up as a way for each of us to explore our relationship to lying. You were to engage in "party" conversation, and in that conversation you were to tell at least one lie. All but two of you got to tell your lies (I cut off the conversation too soon for a couple of you), and the conversation after the "event" provided us with some thoughts about telling the truth/lies.
A couple of you observed that it was hard to lie to people you were going to know and work with - that it is different (maybe even a game/playful?) lying to strangers. So when you are writing - are you writing to people you have a relationship with (people you "know") or to starngers? How do you feel about misrepresenting your self and your experience? Is it OK because it is "creative" . . . or not?
As you talked about your experiences, I noticed that some of you told your stories from inside the talking - as the person who was telling the lie. You reflected on how you felt and what you were thinking. Others talked about the experience from the role of the audience - watching for the lie, wondering what was true and what was not. So there were issues of perspective - our relationship to truth=> whether we were the author or the "reader" of what was (presented as) true.
We also talked about issues of intentional versus unintentional lies - and how unintentional lies were perhaps more "natural" and more difficult to reflect on in our writing (since we don't know we are telling them).
And you learned eachothers names, so that the blog list on the side should call up some faces.
What is creative nonfiction?
During the second part of class we got into a more direct discussion of what creative nonfiction is. We identified a list of features associated with a list of text which we put out there as possibilities for creative nonfiction works. These features included:
autobiographical
making a point
real people
real places
description
factual
journalistic - fact based
memoir
. . . and that's a start. I added that creative nonfiction has a storytelling part, and a reflecting part; and that one defining feature of creative nonfiction is that it is as seen through the author's eyes. That said - there are a lot of ways to write creative nonfiction (as illustrated by the readings for next class).
You did a little sample journaling toward the end of class. You made a list of things you might write about. I suggested that you could go for experiences that were/are interesting to you, experiences that make a good story, or that provide what you feel was/is an important revellation. You shared some of your ideas and it sounds to me like you will have LOTs to write about. For now - stay open. Keep adding to your jorunal. Don't choose just yet.
I am still working on revising the blog list. That should be done by tonight.
For next class:
Read:
Check out
course blog + browse your text and read carefully: Beard, p. 3,"Out There," Marquart,
p. 118, "Some things about that day," Lopate, p,107, "Portrait
of my body," Ebert,p.258, "I think I'm musing my mind," (then
check out a couple entries + comments on his blog http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/
Blog 1: Using the sample essays from your text - identify and discuss what you see as features of creative nonfiction, then make a list. What are the "essential" features? What are the sometimes there and sometimes not features? What are some of the differences between short and long forms?
And: Bring your writing
journal to class
Thanks for the great class tonight! See you next week.
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