“I don’t believe writing creative nonfiction is synonymous with revealing yourself, or anyway it hasn’t been for me. The goal is to use one’s own experience as a launching point to talk about something bigger, something beyond the writer. What you want to reveal is not necessarily yourself, but some kind of truth.”
Jo Ann Beard
“It was not the subject matter of my memoirs that I hoped would be startling, but rather language’s capacity to name what was once nameless, to define what had once been vague and chaotic. The chief privilege of writing a memoir was the opportunity to go back and make sense of events that left me dumbstruck...”
Why do people write, why do we read their stories? To find ourselves, to learn, to feel less alone, to heal. I cannot disagree more with Brooks. Thanks for asking :)
D'accord! I am a deep thinker, a deep feeler and thus I am often in deep shit! When I read of other people, swimming in feelings (happy, lonely, confused, mad) I feel seen and known. Bring me your stories! Thanks for reading! xN
First off, my comment to the Atlantic article: Oy. Life is people's stories, let's hear more. And second, that is one of my favorite poems ever. Thank you for all the treasure here.
Two of my favorite quotes by memoirists:
“I don’t believe writing creative nonfiction is synonymous with revealing yourself, or anyway it hasn’t been for me. The goal is to use one’s own experience as a launching point to talk about something bigger, something beyond the writer. What you want to reveal is not necessarily yourself, but some kind of truth.”
Jo Ann Beard
“It was not the subject matter of my memoirs that I hoped would be startling, but rather language’s capacity to name what was once nameless, to define what had once been vague and chaotic. The chief privilege of writing a memoir was the opportunity to go back and make sense of events that left me dumbstruck...”
Bernard Cooper
I love that Jo Ann Beard quote! Thanks so much for sending. And, thanks so much for reading.
xN
Just adore you and wish you lived next door!!
same-same! xN
Why do people write, why do we read their stories? To find ourselves, to learn, to feel less alone, to heal. I cannot disagree more with Brooks. Thanks for asking :)
D'accord! I am a deep thinker, a deep feeler and thus I am often in deep shit! When I read of other people, swimming in feelings (happy, lonely, confused, mad) I feel seen and known. Bring me your stories! Thanks for reading! xN
First off, my comment to the Atlantic article: Oy. Life is people's stories, let's hear more. And second, that is one of my favorite poems ever. Thank you for all the treasure here.
Life is people's stories feels like a great motto. And yay for another fan of that poem. Thank you for reading and for writing. xN