The professional text I have chosen for the upcoming blog posts is The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick. The book is not organized into chapters, but rather, four uneven sections. Instead of reading the four sections, I divided the total pages by four and will go off of that.
THE FIRST 41 PAGES
Early on, Gornick talks about a funeral she went to for doctor. While many of the doctor's colleges, and patients spoke about the deceased in a positive manner, only one speaker moved Gornick. The question of why this woman's eulogy touched Gornick haunted her for many nights until she realized the reason. This woman had composed her eulogy. Her memories were structured, and the structure imposed order, and the order had made the sentences more shapely, and the shapeliness increased the expressiveness of the words, and the expressiveness deepened the association. All of this build up created texture, and it was the texture that moved Gornick. In building such a well composed eulogy, the eulogist captured the spirit of the deceased, and the connection they shared.
Later, Gornick explains how personal writing is more challenging than fiction or poetry. In order to write personally, the writer must "fashion a persona out of one's own undisguised self." The writer of fiction uses a surrogate to convey their inappropriate longings or embarrassing ideas; the writers of personal narrative are unsurrogated. In Gornick's opinion, creating this unsurrogated persona is the hardest thing for writers of personal narratives to accomplish.
What I learned: Writing personal narrative requires the author to bare themselves completely. Being 75% honest is not enough. The reader can tell when the author is being true.
Golden Lines: "Every work of Literature has both a situation and a story. The situation is the context or circumstance, sometimes the plot; the story is the emotional experience that preoccupies the writer..."
Questions: Why is detachment especially important in personal narrative? What limitations arise when the writer is too close to her material?
Strategies: Practice writing about a time you were embarrassed. Be honest and dig deep.
I like your strategy. It is a good idea because everyone has a time where they were once embarrassed. I agree with the statement 'the reader can tell when the author is being true', it seems silly but it is true.
ReplyDeleteWhat delightful ideas. I think this text would go well with students who are blogging. Thanks for sharing new ideas. I am not sure why a level of detachment is necessary, but I wonder if that would depend on the audience and purpose.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I think it is so interesting how people can always tell when the author is not being 100% truthful. I think the ideas you wrote about in your post are ones that students would benefit greatly from. Not only in writing, but in all aspects of life. I think it is imperative for kids to learn the importance of honesty and promoting this virtue through writing is a good strategy. I like your strategy of having students write about a time they were really embarrassed. I think it is effective because it is such a personal question and the fact that every student has to write about the same topic, an embarrassing moment, would cause them to feel comfortable and open.
Hi John! This is great and I love the idea of writing being about honesty. My favorite writer is Ernest Hemingway and that is all he emphasizes, so I really enjoyed reading this too!
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