David Sedaris: Narrative Non-Fiction
Last class I asked you to write a creative response to the articles we read in class for homework. If you have written those and printed them out, please place them in your portfolio. If you did not complete this work, please do so on your own time and put your drafts in your writing portfolio.
This morning, after our short reading, please be prepared to take notes on some key course vocabulary. Last class we ended with the term: Hegemony. When discussing these power structures, it is helpful to know what groups to which we belong or to which we identify. We may have cultural groups that we share with others: for instance we are all living in Rochester, NY. We all attend the RCSD. We all go to SOTA. More than half of us are female. Only a few of us are Buddhist or Catholic or Muslim. There are many social, political, and philosophical roles we participate in through our lives. Some groups we only share a tenuous connection with, others define who we are or how we see the world.
Identify the groups you feel you belong to or hold loyalty to. After comparing these groups with a neighbor, how do you identify yourself? How does this identity influence your actions or change your personal philosophy? Let's discuss for a few minutes.
Then: Let's go back to our previous blog post and complete the work there. After this, we'll come back here and listen to the essay: "Go Carolina" by David Sedaris.
A NOTE ABOUT NON-FICTION:
Memoir is growing in popularity. In the last few decades, creative non-fiction (memoir, mostly) has increased sales and readership. Creative non-fiction works exactly like fiction. There is very little difference, except that the plot, characters, setting, etc. are based on real people, places, and events. A writer of non-fiction must tell a story. That is the primary function of non-fiction, and it is often forgotten when attempting it. There is usually dialogue, a rise of action to a climax, an epiphany, and attention to imagery, characterization, and other literary devices.
Lack of memory is not an excuse for lack of detail.
If a writer doesn’t remember the details exactly, she must provide these details from her imagination. The goal is to tell an interesting story. Period. As we listen to David Sedaris' essay "Go Carolina" pay close attention to how he provides effective details when writing about events in his past. What FICTIONAL techniques does he employ and what is their effect on you as the reader?
HOMEWORK: None. Write a creative response using the prewriting you completed today in class. Please bring your books with you next class.
This morning, after our short reading, please be prepared to take notes on some key course vocabulary. Last class we ended with the term: Hegemony. When discussing these power structures, it is helpful to know what groups to which we belong or to which we identify. We may have cultural groups that we share with others: for instance we are all living in Rochester, NY. We all attend the RCSD. We all go to SOTA. More than half of us are female. Only a few of us are Buddhist or Catholic or Muslim. There are many social, political, and philosophical roles we participate in through our lives. Some groups we only share a tenuous connection with, others define who we are or how we see the world.
Identify the groups you feel you belong to or hold loyalty to. After comparing these groups with a neighbor, how do you identify yourself? How does this identity influence your actions or change your personal philosophy? Let's discuss for a few minutes.
Then: Let's go back to our previous blog post and complete the work there. After this, we'll come back here and listen to the essay: "Go Carolina" by David Sedaris.
A NOTE ABOUT NON-FICTION:
Memoir is growing in popularity. In the last few decades, creative non-fiction (memoir, mostly) has increased sales and readership. Creative non-fiction works exactly like fiction. There is very little difference, except that the plot, characters, setting, etc. are based on real people, places, and events. A writer of non-fiction must tell a story. That is the primary function of non-fiction, and it is often forgotten when attempting it. There is usually dialogue, a rise of action to a climax, an epiphany, and attention to imagery, characterization, and other literary devices.
Lack of memory is not an excuse for lack of detail.
If a writer doesn’t remember the details exactly, she must provide these details from her imagination. The goal is to tell an interesting story. Period. As we listen to David Sedaris' essay "Go Carolina" pay close attention to how he provides effective details when writing about events in his past. What FICTIONAL techniques does he employ and what is their effect on you as the reader?
HOMEWORK: None. Write a creative response using the prewriting you completed today in class. Please bring your books with you next class.
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