Description
Book SynopsisAdvanced Creative Nonfiction: A Writers' Guide and Anthology offers expert instruction on writing creative nonfiction in any formincluding memoir, lyric essay, travel writing, and morewhile taking an expansive approach to fit a rapidly evolving literary art form. From a history of creative nonfiction, related ethical concerns, and new approaches to revision and publishing, this book offers innovative strategies and ideas beyond what's traditionally covered.
Advanced Creative Nonfiction: A Writers' Guide and Anthology also includes: An anthology of contemporary creative nonfiction by some of today's most inventive and celebrated writers Advanced explorations into the craft of creative nonfiction across forms In-depth discussion of truth, ethics, and memory Practical advice on revision, editing, research, and publishing Writing prompts and exercises throughout the textbook A companion website is also available for the book at http://www.bloo
Trade ReviewAdvanced Creative Nonfiction: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology sets a new standard for teaching creative nonfiction by covering a wide range of craft topics, explicating old and emergent forms, and including a unique anthology ... Each chapter reads as an engaging lecture, a lesson on how to process, and more importantly, how to be a human who writes. * Technical Communication *
I’ve searched long and hard for a creative nonfiction text that not only reflects the traditions of nonfiction but likewise its myriad and protean forms. At last, I have it in this smart and clear-headed look at a genre that prizes uncertainty and seeking. Prentiss and Nelson undo traditional and unhelpful definitions of the forms and argue for a more malleable approach, eschewing the narrow rut of truth versus fiction. The vignettes that introduce each chapter are themselves lovely reflections that marry form and experience by these two talented writers. The choices for the anthology reflect the breadth, diversity, and brilliance of many of the most inventive and exciting writers of creative nonfiction today. And as guides, Nelson and Prentiss prove themselves to be the most trustworthy of pathfinders through a heretofore confusing landscape in a practice that is still trying to define itself. I expect this will be my teaching text of choice for years to come. * Robin Hemley, Author of Borderline Citizen: Dispatches from the Outskirts of Nationhood, Founder of NonfictioNOW and Co-editor and founder, Speculative Nonfiction *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Part 1: Foundations 1. The History of Creative Nonfiction 2. Veracity and Genre 3. Forms and Modes of Creative Nonfiction 4. Interplay of Genres, Forms, and Modes 5. Elements of Creative Nonfiction
Part 2: Evolutions 6. The Central Question 7. Image and Metaphor 8. Exploding Scene 9. Chronology 10. Dialectical Movement 11. Setting As Character 12. Writer, Narrator, Character 13. Lenses 14. Reflection, Introspection, and Speculation 15. Beginnings and Endings 16. Music of Prose
Part 3: Integrities 17. Truth, Fact, and Memory 18. Authority and Credibility
Part 4: Renovations 19. Workshops, Peer Reviews, and Writing Groups 20. Revision 21. Publishing
Part 5: Anthology 1. Austin Bunn, “Basement Story” 2. Amy Butcher, “Women These Days” 3. Seo-Young Chu, “A Refuge for Jae-in Doe: Fugues in the Key of English Major” 4. Melissa Febos, “Leave Marks” 5. Kathy Fish, “Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild” 6. Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, “Open Season” 7. Ross Gay, “Loitering” 8. Och Gonzalez, “What I Do on My Terrace is None of Your Business” 9. Peter Grandbois, “Loyalty” 10. Major Jackson, “Mighty Pawns” 11. Sarah Minor, “A Log Cabin Square” 12. Jessica Hendry Nelson, “When You Were a Boy in Maine” 13. Sean Prentiss, “Buying a House” 14. Jonathan Rovner, “The Funambulists” 15. Vijay Seshadri, “Memoir” 16. Vivek Shraya, “Trisha” 17. Margot Singer, “Call it Rape” 18. Ira Sukrungruang, “Invisible Partners” 19. Jill Talbot, “The Professor of Longing” 20. Abigail Thomas, “Nostalgia” 21. Ryan Van Meter, “First” 22. Elissa Washuta, “Incompressible Flow” 23. Christian Wiman, “The Limit” 24. Brooke Juliet Wonders, “Self Erasure” 25. Xu Xi, “Godspeed” 26. Kristen Millares Young, “A Few Thoughts While Shaving” Index
