annotated source 04.02

Benson, Arthur. "The Art of the Essayist." 1922. Quotidiana. Ed. Patrick Madden. 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 29 Mar. 2012

This essay, much like Alexander Smith's "On the Writing of Essays," explores the idea of the essayist persona instead of focusing on the essay itself. This also reinforces the notion that in order to write essays, one must be an essayist. Benson writes that essayists must be curious, realistic, alert, and "emotional in a reverential way." Describing these characteristics of essayists is interesting to me because it shows me more and more that essaying is a way of life, rather than a mere occupation (and if it were a mere occupation, it would be a poor occupation, because it's not the most lucrative career out there). This is relevant to my project because while in London I will continue my pursuit to be an essayist, and there I will have more time to actually focus my life on my project, which is essay writing. It will be an excellent time to both observe the world around me and write about it.

annotated source 03.30: agnes repplier

Repplier, Agnes. “Words.” 1893. Quotidiana. Ed. Patrick Madden. 10 Apr 2007. Web. 30 Mar 2012.


This essay explores the important role of words in writing, and in it Repplier mourns that writers often don't appreciate the power of words. She uses a metaphor I love: "Musicians know the value of chords; painters know the value of colors; writers are so often blind to the value of words." I think this is definitely true--writers often just throw words together without thinking about their specific impact. I can definitely attest to that, and this is why Repplier's argument in this essay is so relevant to me and my project. It's essential for me to continue learning to appreciate the value of words as a writer, and this essay is a helpful reference to help me out with that venture. 
Favorite Repplier quote: "For every sentence that may be penned or spoken the right words exist." 


Boom. 

T

annotated source 03.28

Schwabe, Liesl. "The Intimacy of Forks." Creative Nonfiction 41(Spring 2011): 16-19. Print

Creative Nonfiction is one of the literary journals I have explored lately. It's definitely a "reach" journal, as far as my own chances of publication go, but as I read the essays published in the journal, I find them stylistically within my foreseeable reach. "The Intimacy of Forks" is an interesting essay exploring a waitress' observations of customers who come and go from the restaurant she works at. It falls into the personal essay camp because it combines scene (and some narration or dialogue) with rumination and exploration of the author's mind. Here's one quote that exemplifies what I'm trying to describe: "Despite all the awkward interactions, moments of shared understanding flicker through most every exchange. We recognize one another in the simplicity of eye contact, which buoys my faith but can also break my heart. I will never forget the plaid shirt and the rolled jeans of the man whose hand shook so much he couldn't get his spoon to his mouth. Now, his wife comes in along to order take-out, which we rarely do, except for people we like" (19).

Fantastico. One of the characteristics I love about essays (and what often distinguishes an essay from a memoir) is the addition of personal insight (hindsight) into the narrative, where the writer is allowed to be transparent about feelings and judgments; in other words, in essays, authors "show AND tell," whereas in other forms of literature writers are told to "show, NOT tell." So, yes, good essay.

annotated source 03.26

Arthur, Chris. "An Essay on the Esse." The Pedestrian vol 2, 2009. Web. 21 March 2012. 


This is yet another example of a theoretical essay that exemplifies what an essay can look like while commenting on the actual form. Very meta. Arthur's essay explores the "essay" as a literary genre, comparing it to "esse," which means "essential nature, essence, to be, etc.," and "esse," a type of wood-burning stove that was in his home growing up. These may seem like disparate things, but he comments on the connection (and the use of seemingly obscure connections in essays) towards the end, saying:


"Touch the Esse with the hand of the essay and all sorts of windows open up. It is cocooned in a delicate tracery of stories. Pull on one thread and it awakens the lives of those in foundry and warehouse, in canal barges and in shop, all the hands that touched this cube of iron. Pull on another thread and the ore from which the Esse was forged takes us back to the geological age when it was laid down in the earth..."
(I could have gone on, because Arthur's prose is so dazzlingly beautiful, but I'll spare you the reading time.) 


There is value in meta essays because a writer like me, trying to better understand the form and function of essays, can see how other essayists understand the essay--and they explain it in a way that follows the form they are writing about. Arthur's essay is extremely helpful because it accomplishes this meta-commentary. And it helps that his prose is, as I mentioned, dazzlingly beautiful. If you don't believe me, you should read this essay. The second paragraph is one of my favorites. Arthur is one of my favorite essayists, and this essay reinforces that favoritism. 

annotated source 03.21

Prose, Francine. "Learning from Chekov." Reading Like a Writer. New York: Harper Collins, 2006. Print.

First of all, I wanted to point out how fantastic it is that the author's last name is "Prose." As an aspiring writer, I would die for a last name like that. Anyway, one of my professors recommended this essay to me  as we were discussing my upcoming prospectus and thesis, because I am going to be taking on the same themes about classical essay style, writing from a tradition, etc., that I will be working with for my field study project. Anyway, this essay talks about Prose's experience teaching the "rules" of fiction as she was reading Chekov's short stories. She writes that she would give her students a hard and fast rule of something never to do in fiction, and then as she read Chekov on the bus ride home, she would find that he broke the very same rule she was giving to her class, successfully writing against the rules she was prescribing for her students. It's an interesting discussion about the rules of writing, and how writers prescribe them and break them, and I will keep this essay close as I am exploring the "rules" of essay writing.

annotated source 03.19

Steinberg, Michael, Thomas Larson, Mimi Schwartz, and Phillip Lopate. "The Persona in Personal Narrative: Crafting the Made-Up Self." Association of Writers and Writers Programs. Chicago, 2012.

This AWP panel was one of my favorites. The panelists are all essay superstars, so it was interesting to see them talk about how they construct themselves in their essays. They speculated on their own writing and other authors' writing to consider whether or not the self on the page was just a construction of the author. They varied in opinion--for example, Phillip Lopate (who is delightfully snarky, by the way) talked about his own writing, reading two different pieces that were written decades apart, but are both clearly written in a singular voice. I think they'd all agree that no matter what the essayist does to construct his or her persona in writing, the self is multifaceted, thus leading to a large variety of voices and tones and "selves" that can come from one individual while still remaining true to the author's identity. This was a helpful source because I am always seeking understanding of my genre, and knowing the current discussion on the creation of self in personal essays will help me to be more aware of how I construct and portray myself on the page.

annotated source 03.16

Norris, Dana and Scott Whitehair, Shannon Cason, Kelsie Huff, Kevin Gladish. Memoir without a Net. AWP Conference. Chicago, 2012.

This was a storytelling panel, in which the panelists showed how creative writing can be performed in a storytelling context. Apparently, storytelling is exploding in different areas of the nation because people are realizing how exciting memoir and personal narrative can be when performed in storytelling format. Although the storytellers in this panel more closely aligned with memoir rather than essay, this was still valuable because it showed yet another context in which creative writing can reach more people. The act of presenting stories and thoughts to a live audience could be scary yet, I'm sure, invigorating. Although I don't know if I will use this format specifically as a way to present my work, it is useful to see how animated and fun a performer can make the presentation of a story. If I end up presenting at a conference and reading my work, I think it would be fun to use storytelling aspects to make my presentation more engaging to the audience. Again, this is mostly for after my project is completed, but it's still useful to keep a larger perspective of where I want my work to go.

annotated source 03.14

Hemley, Robin and Melissa Pritchard, Joe Mackall, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, and Christopher Merrill. The Writer in the World: A Look at Immersion Writing. AWP Conference. Chicago, 2012.

This panel was especially relevant to my project (and field study projects in general) because it discussed immersion writing in the context of journalism, travel writing, and memoir. Immersion is when a writer immerses him or herself into a different culture in order to understand and gain insight from another culture's perspective. Immersion writing combines the view of the writer, but focuses on accurate reporting and representation rather than relying mainly on the writer's imagination or memory. This description aptly defines the difference between the different genres: "In immersion journalism, the writer uses the self to write about the world. In immersion memoir, the writer uses the world to write about the self. And in travel writing, there's a bit of both." My project will probably align the closest to travel writing, because I want to use the context of London to write about myself, but also write about London and its diversity and wonder from my own perspective. This panel was excellent, interesting, and very relevant to my project.

annotated source 03.12

Levy, EJ and Kyoko Mori, Maureen Stanton, Ryan Van Meter, Patrick Madden. Is the Midwest Reshaping Creative Nonfiction? A Tribute to Fourth Genre. AWP Converence. Chicago, 2012.

This was a group of writers who had published Fourth Genre, a journal of creative nonfiction, reading personal essays that dealt in some way with the Midwest. I felt like the label of the Midwest was more of an excuse to get five essayists together to read great essays, because the focus was more on their work than it was on the relationship to the Midwest. The Q&A right after the reading was where the Midwest was discussed in depth, however. This was useful to me because it demonstrated the style of personal essays that are currently being published. While some were more traditionally essayistic, others were mainly narrative; all were enjoyable, traditional or not, but personal essays are more loosely defined today than they might have been when Classical British essayists were writing their essays. I might perhaps be a little too narrow-minded in saying that, though, because I'm sure that many other essays were being published alongside the Classical essays, while they may not have been defined as such based on our current qualifications of the traditional genre. Questions of genre are typically fascinating and frustrating at the same time, because it is so often loosely defined and fuzzy around the edges. I will have to be careful not to be short-sighted when I attempt to define what I feel like IS the classical British essay.

annotated source 03.09

Walters, Pat and Lulu Miller, Kate Snodgrass, Gary Garrison, Lydia Diamond. NPRU Kidding Me? It Can Totally Happen. AWP Conference. Chicago, 2012.

This is a more outside-the-box source, but this was one of my favorite panels because it showed how diverse essays can potentially be; radio shows sponsored by NPR contain creative works extended from fiction to nonfiction, and this panel discussed an "exciting and largely untapped platform for writers to get their stories to the masses." The panelists looked at different shows--Radiolab, This American Life--to demonstrate the value of sound and radio editing adds to creative writing. They explained what narrative radio is, and what types of prose work best on the air. I enjoyed this panel because, as a writer, I want my writing to reach as many people as possible, and this panel showed me that there are many other options besides print publication. This is relevant because once I complete my project, I will look at publishing my essays, and knowing there are different options is both exciting and comforting.

annotated source 03.07

Seeley, Tracy, Joy Catstro, Marcia Aldrich, and Jocelyn Bartkevicius. Modernist Nonfiction: Virginia Woolf and Her Contemporaries. AWP (Association of Writers and Writers Programs) Conference. Chicago, 2012.

This panel at AWP featured scholarly papers presented on four different modernist nonfiction writers: Virginia Woolf, Alice Meynell, Margery Latimer, and Meridel LeSueur. Even though Virginia Woolf is best known for both her fiction and her argumentative essay "A Room of One's Own," she was actually a propagator and writer of lyrical (personal) essays. Alice Meynell was also an essayist (see my annotation of her collection of essays), and one panelist discussed her contribution to the essay canon even though many of her essays didn't seem very personal upfront. This panel was helpful because it discussed what modernist writers have contributed to creative nonfiction, and I was able to see how their discussion can inform my own analysis of Virginia Woolf and Alice Meynell's writing. The panelist presenting on Virginia Woolf mentioned that her dissertation adviser was shocked that she was writing her dissertation on Virginia Woolf without looking at her fiction--the fact scholars don't hold Woolf's personal essays in high esteem is troubling. But as more scholars emphasize the value of her essays, the more people will become familiar with her contribution to creative nonfiction. Vamos arriba!

annotated source 03.05

AWP (Association of Writers and Writers Programs) Conference 2012. Chicago, Illinois.
Panel: Bremer, Krista and Lee Martin, Cheryl Strayed, Stephen Elliot. "Selling Out Everyone You Love: The Ethics of Nonfiction."

I was excited that so many panels in the AWP Conference had to do with creative nonfiction, because I am going to use them as sources to help inform my project. Many of these panels were very practical, and all very helpful in one way or another in learning about creative nonfiction and the different nuances of the genre. This particular panel was applicable to what we've been talking about in class (especially with the IRB) because it dealt directly with the ethics of writing about other people, particularly people who are close to the writer. Basically, they all said that at one time or another they've had to deal with problems related to sharing information about others, but they've found a few solutions to help minimize the potential damage: humility, fairness, intention, transparency, and fearlessness. I will need to keep their counsel in mind as I write about other people, whether or not I'm writing about people I know well. More about this panel in today's learning journal.

annotated source 03.02

 Claus, Karl. The Made-up Self: Impersonation in the Personal Essay. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2010. 

Karl Claus takes on the subject of the "self" in the personal essay, exploring the different facets--even facades--that makes up the self in the personal essay. The problem of pinning down the self is exactly where Carl Klaus starts in his exploration The Made-up Self: Impersonation in the Personal Essay. In the prologue, Klaus writes that

           

The person in a personal essay is a written construct, a fabricated thing, a character of sorts—the sound of its voice a by-product of carefully chosen words, its recollection of experience, its run of thought and feeling, much tidier than the mess of memories, thoughts, and feelings arising in one’s consciousness.

Though the cover of the book describes it as literary criticism/reference/writing, Klaus doesn’t give the reader what might be expected by these classifications—a solely informative look at the personal essay form. Instead, he says that “given my addiction to the personal essay, I could not resist the temptation to write about it in the freewheeling form of essays, nor could I resist the enticing roles an essayist can play.” As Klaus sets out to accomplish the feat of a book-length discussion on the essayistic personae, the character, voice, and recollection of classic and contemporary essayists inform the text with a delightfully broad look at the many selves that have given life to the essay. But despite the in-depth look at the work of others, Klaus’ voice weaves itself in and out of Montaigne and Woolf, around bends of Lamb and White, and over the rivers of Dillard and Didion, showing readers that no matter where the essay goes, the essayist is ever at the helm. 

Delightful read.

annotated source: 02.29

Lukacs, Georg. "Soul and Form." Translated by Anna Bostock. Cambridge: Mit Press.

Lukacs was a Hungarian philosopher (Marxist philosopher) and literary critic, and this essay was published in 1911. This wasn't the most fascinating essay/article to read, but it was useful to read because it talked in detail about the differences between essayists and critics. It talks about life versus living, that both are useful but can't be effective at the same time--to tell you the honest truth, I had no idea what he was talking about when he said that. My favorite part, though, was when he said this:

The essayist needs form only as lived experience and he needs only its life, only the living soul-reality in contains. But this reality is to be found in every immediate sensual expression of life, it can be read out of and read into every such experience; life itself can be lived and given form through such a scheme of lived experience. 


The idea of the essayist giving form to life is wonderful concept. To me, it refers to the essayist's meditating on and giving meaning to life's experiences. He says that the critic's "moment of destiny...is that moment at which things become forms." Thus, the critic's job to comment upon form; the essayist, on the other hand, gives form to life. This will help my project because any piece of information that helps me understand the role of an essayist will help me as a writer.

annotated source: 02.27

Orwell, George. "Just Junk." The Orwell Prize. Web. 2 February 25. [originally published 5 January 1946].

This is a completely DELIGHTFUL essay, and my dear friend Bess was good enough to point it out to me. This essay talks about London junk shops and the "treasures" that can be found there. George Orwell is an essayist that was likely find his way into my sources, and I'd like to study his essays while in London. This particular essay was noteworthy because it talked about actual London junk shops and the streets they were on and everything and when I read it, the only thing I wanted to do in the whole world was wander around London until I found every single one of those junk shops. Seriously, though, I can't think of anything more wonderful. This essay is great because it not only by a British author but it is about London--win win. As I am in London, the essays that deal directly with London are some that I will highly value while in the field. Love it.

annotated source 02.24

Madden, Patrick. Quotidiana. Nebraska: U of Nebraska, 2010. Print.

Madden's essay style is compared to Montaigne's in that it illuminates commonplace things and commonplace moments. One of the reasons why I wanted to include Madden's writing in my sources is that he really exemplifies a contemporary undertaking of the classical essay style. The first essay in this book, "The Infinite Suggestiveness of Common Things," borrows its title from Alexander Smith's essay, "On the Writing of Essays," and in it Madden explores the value of finding meaning in the everyday, in the mundane. Throughout his essays, Madden often quotes other essayists or philosophers and quotes much like Montaigne does in his essays; this technique shows that Madden is drawing from a larger field of knowledge--acknowledging that he is a part of the greater human experience, which is a common trait among essays. Because I work with Pat Madden on a regular basis in my master's program, this seems a natural choice to add to my list of sources. He practices what he preaches.

annotated source 02.22

Doyle, Brian. Leaping. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2003. Print.

I really can't believe it's taken me this long to include Brian Doyle somewhere in my source list. Brian Doyle is one of the greatest contemporary essayists. I've heard Brian Doyle a few times in readings and Q&As, and every time I hear him speak I leave inspired that essayists really do make the world a better place. Without being corny, though, this book is a great example of why Brian Doyle is considered by some to be one of the greatest contemporary essayists. He is, as he admits, a "story catcher," meaning he finds (attracts, I think) stories of amazing, normal, everyday people and writes them into his essays. He isn't just telling stories about himself, although they have their fair share in his writing; he is collecting and sharing others' stories. In this way, he perfectly fits into Alexander Smith's definition of an essayist: the world's amanuensis. This is one trait I will look for particularly as I read Brian Doyle in the context of the classics. He differs in many ways, but he IS an essayist. This, by the way, is an excellent book.

annotated source 02.21

Can you tell that I'm getting ahead on sources? I received some inspiration, so I decided to just go for it.

Okay, here's this one:

Galeano, Eduardo. Memory of Fire: Genesis. New York: Norton & Co., 1998. Print.

Eduardo Galeano is a Uruguayan writer (yay hooray!) so his books are translated from Spanish. Galeano is a contemporary writer (he actually came to BYU a few years ago), and his essays are completely different than any of the other essays I've included in my sources thus far. His essays may be better described as prose poems, because they are all very brief and poet yet very exploratory and meditative. Poetry, of course, can also be meditative, but his book reads more like essays than it does poetry for me. Anyway, this particular book explores the clashing of the Old World and New World, focusing on Latin America. Thematically, this is a collection of historical essays, or at least essays with a historical focus, but they do and say so much more. He takes history and inserts his own voice and view and language, and marries them together to produce beautiful, essayistic, and poetic pieces.

He will be interesting to study in context of the classical British essay, because he is so different, but at the same time I would love to see how he intersects with the canonical essayists. And he will be fun to imitate.

annotated source 02.17

Selections from:

Sebald, W.G. The Emigrants. New York: New Directions, 1996. Print.

Sebald, W.G. The Rings of Saturn. New York: New Directions, 1999. Print.

Sebald is unique in the essaying world. His books combine nonfiction with imagination that encroaches on fiction; in fact, The Emigrants is categorized as a novel, although it clearly chronicles his experiences and encounters. The Rings of Saturn begins with Sebald in the hospital, having experienced a breakdown after his experience with the walking tour that informed his book. His prose is dizzying and very stream of consciousness, so it's a lot different than many of the essayists I've studied up to this point. However, Montaigne was very stream of consciousness (though the phrase hadn't been coined in the 16th century), as well as Virginia Woolf.

In The Emigrants, Sebald has four main, longer essays that each focus on a different German in exile--the first essay, which is the only one I've read at length so far, isn't just a biography, but an encounter. Sebald interacts with the person he's characterizing, and all in all it's a very good example of what can be done with another person's story. This is one thing I would love to emulate--how to take another person's story and tell it in a meditative and completely different way. Completely different.

One more thing: Sebald is German, although he lived in England for much of his life and is buried in Norfolk county. He wrote in German, though, so his essays are translated from German.

annotated source 02.15

Dillard, Annie. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. New York: Harper Perennial, 1999. Print

This collection of essays chronicles one year in the Blue Ridge valley (Virginia). Dillard lives in the Blue Ridge valley, next to Tinker Creek, and her essays in this book record her explorations of the valley and creek--but it ends up being so much more than that. Dillard explores ideas and beliefs and images through her observations, and she ends up coming up with some stunning insights. Dillard is a contemporary essayist, but her style often reflects many attributes of the personal essay. The exploratory and meditative aspect of essays is something that Dillard does excellently. It will be great to study her essays in the context of the classical British essay, and see how she parallels certain characteristics of essays and also how she deviates from the essay tradition. Excellent contemporary examples.