LITERARY NONFICTION
English 5760
Dr. Richard Nordquist
Armstrong Atlantic State University

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RELATED COURSE SITES
Advanced Composition
Rhetoric 2000

Writing Project #3
Personal Essay
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ASSIGNMENTS
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DESCRIPTION

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Midterm
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WRITERLY ADVICE

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Approximate length: 1,500-2,000 words. 
Final revision due: Monday, December 6.

Please revisit this page every few days for frequent updates to the assignment guidelines.  


PERSONAL ESSAY: 
In this assignment, we are composing a personal or familiar essay--a composition in which our distinctive (and carefully crafted) persona interacts with a particular experience or person or place or idea (or series of experiences, people, places, or ideas) to discover the humor, sadness, wisdom, and/or truth of our subject.  (In addition to Lopate's introductory definitions of the form--and thus of this assignment--we'll be looking at ways that other essayists perceive the personal or familiar essay.)  This assignment is not primarily an argument or "opinion piece" (i.e., an editorial) nor does it call for the sort of private writing or "baring of the soul" associated with confessional writing or journal entries.  Though the "I" in this essay will have a significantly more dominant role than in the travel essay or profile, we are still writing with an adult audience beyond ourselves in mind. 

CONSIDERATIONS
As you explore topics for a personal essay, keep in mind these observations from Lee Gutkind, author of The Art of Creative Fiction (1997) and editor of the journal Creative Nonfiction.  
note02.gif (1077 bytes)  Of the many reasons the vast majority of these submissions
(to the journal Creative Nonfiction) are rejected, two are most prevalent.  The first is overwhelming egocentrism; in other words, writers write too much about themselves without seeking a universal focus or umbrella so that readers are properly and firmly engaged.  Just because something we think is interesting has happened to us, it won't necessarily be fascinating to 100,000 readers across the United States.  . . .  The overall objective of the personal essayist is to make the reader tune-in--not tune-out.
     The second reason
Creative Nonfiction and most other journals and magazines reject essays is their authors' lack of attention to the mission of the genre, which is to gather and present information, to teach readers about a person, place, idea, or situation.  Even the most personal of essays are full of substantive detail about a subject that affects or concerns a writer and the people about whom he or she is writing.  Read the books and essays of the most renowned nonfiction writers of the century and you will read about a writer engaged in a quest for information and discovery.  (69-70)

note02.gif (1077 bytes)  [As you explore topics] tear yourself inside out.  Unearth, dramatize, relive bad memories, frightening and life-shaping experiences.  Tell humorous anecdotes about growing up on a farm or in the inner city.  But in the process, always remember that readers have their own memories, good and bad.  Readers do not want to pass the time of day with a writer, listening to the past, without learning or benefitting in one way or another--or sharing in some universal experience or agony.  [Good essayists] unmask themselves in the most personal ways, but they also embrace a larger subject with universal appeal.  (73-74)
   

BRAINSTORMING QUESTIONS
In a few sentences for each, please answer the following questions (legibly--I'll be collecting and responding to them) for class discussion on Wednesday, November 17.

(1)     Identify and briefly describe a specific odor and/or a specific sound that reminds you of a particular person, place, or experience from your younger years.

(2)     Consider the following titles of essays in our anthology: "My Confession"; "Some Memories of . . . an Earlier Self";   "My Face."  Imagine that you had chosen one of these as the title for your own essay, and briefly explain what you would most likely write about.

(3)     Consider the following (additional) titles of essays in our anthology: "Walking"; "On Going a Journey": "Street Haunting"; "Going Out for a Walk"; "Seeing."  Imagine that you had chosen one of these as the title for your own essay, and briefly explain what you would most likely write about.

(4)     Identify and briefly describe the particular place you retreated to as a child to escape from the rest of the world.  Mention whether or not you have any comparable place today.

(5)     Identify and briefly describe a single item in your house that serves to conjure up all sorts of memories--about a particular experience and/or another person or place. 


A FEW TOPIC SUGGESTIONS
The following topic ideas all concentrate on personal experience; if you choose a topic along these lines, the challenge will be to encourage and invite the reader's identification with that experience.

1. We have all had experiences that have changed the directions of our lives.  Such experiences may be momentous, such as
moving from one part of the country to another or losing a family member or close friend.   On the other hand, they may be
experiences that did not appear particularly significant at the time but have since proved to be important.  Recall such a turning
point in your life, and present it so as to give the reader a sense of what your life was like before the event and how it changed
afterwards.

2. Without getting sentimental or cute, recreate your childhood perspective of a particular family or community ritual. Your
purpose might be to highlight the division between the child's perspective and the adult's; or it might be to illustrate the child's
movement toward an adult perspective.

3. Sometimes a significant relationship with someone can help us to mature, easily or painfully. Recount the story of such a
relationship in your own life or in the life of someone you know well. If this relationship marked a turning point in your life or if it
provided you with an important change of self-image, present enough information so that readers can understand the causes
and effects of the change and can recognize the before-and-after portraits.

4. Write a reminiscence of a place that has had considerable significance for you (either during your childhood or more
recently)--positive, negative, or both. For readers who are unfamiliar with the place, demonstrate its meaning through
description, a series of vignettes, and/or an account of one or two quintessential people or events you associate with that place.

5. In the spirit of the familiar saying, "It's the going, not the getting there, that matters," write an account of a memorable
journey, important either because of the physical, emotional, or psychological experience of travel; or because of the
phenomenon of leaving somewhere for an unknown experience.

ADDITIONAL TOPIC IDEAS WILL BE POSTED HERE LATER IN THE WEEK.


FORMAT

The final version of the essay should be word processed, following the format below. Submit the essay in a pocket folder (no
clasps, staples, or plastic spines): most recent version on top, rough(er) versions below. Following your essay, provide a brief
self-evaluation by responding to these questions:

1. What part of this profile do you like most, and why?
2. What part gave you the most difficulty? Explain.
3. What is your overall evaluation of the profile--its particular strengths and possible weaknesses?

Please be as specific as you can in your answers.

Manuscript format
Bring to class the finished profile (word processed, normal 12-point font, clearly and sharply printed) as well as all transcripts and drafts.  Double space all text. Set one-inch margins: top, bottom, left, and right.


Your Name                                                     Personal Essay

Your e-mail address                                         Draft (1 or 2)

Date due                                                           approx.# of  words

                           Tentative Title of Your Essay

     Begin essay here . . .


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English 5760 is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Victor 1-10
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia 31419
NEW PHONE: 912 921 5991
FAX:   912 921 7339

e-mail: richardnordquist@hotmail.com    email1.gif (3086 bytes)   homearro.gif (1916 bytes)   People09.gif (1594 bytes)

 

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14 November 1999