week eight: oh comely

Yesterday, I went to the bookstore with my girlfriends and discovered a very pretty and witty magazine, Oh Comely. I fell in love with it instantly. At first, Oh Comely reminded me of a UK version Frankie. But if Frankie is a crafty, laid-back hipster, then Oh Comely is her dreamy yet down-to-earth sister, albeit both are equally clever and cool. 

I wouldn't mind snuggling up to Oh Comely with a cup of tea in hand, no I wouldn't mind indeed. I'm already looking for a subscription. Consider me smitten!

Julia

week seven: listening to 'tone deaf' by ben law

During the lecture this week, Kari Gislason mentioned in passing that "funny on paper does not necessarily translate on screen." I thought that was an interesting statement, because presenting humour in any medium (paper, television, radio, etc.) can be tricky. It's difficult to find a balance between "funny" and "obnoxious", "hilarious" and "off-putting", or "self-deprecating" and "downright annoying". I am usually so afraid of crossing the line, I don't even go there. Which is sad because I like to believe that the things that go on in my head are funny. I picture myself writing funny things, but it just won't translate onto paper without my reader-self wanting to slap my obnoxious writer-self.

And it is for all these reasons that I truly believe Mr Benjamin Law has a gift. That man is as hilarious in real life as he is on paper. He is sarcastic, highly inappropriate, and an all-around funny man.

I decided to put Kari's statement (and Ben) to the test by listening to Ben's reading of 'Tone Deaf', an excerpt from his memoir, The Family Law, uploaded by Paper Radio. I love it when authors or poets read their own work--it feels as though I have now experienced their words as they intended it to be. I also wanted to see if I found Ben's humorous writing as funny if I were listening instead of reading.

My verdict? Yes it was, and no it wasn't. Listening to the reading was very effective for when Ben was trying to express himself in Cantonese. I laughed out loud at various parts (especially when I heard Ben's weird Cantonese intonations, as I am a failed Cantonese speaking Chinese myself) that probably wouldn't have been as funny if I had read it. However, there were also parts when I thought would've been more effective on paper. Perhaps it is his slow reading voice (understandable, as it is required for clarity) that causes some humour to be lost.

Either way, though, there is always something special to be experienced when listening or reading--which, I believe, is the very magic of words.

week six: archives and collections

Earlier this week, I found a couple of handy websites that house (and link to) many creative non-fiction articles. Safe to say, I poured many hours into reading various pieces that piqued my interest in the past couple of days. Here are the three websites:

1. The Electric Typewriter

selected features, articles, and essays from the world's best journalist and writers.

I loved this one. It has a great collection of both essays and creative non-fiction pieces, which you can search for by subject, author, or tag. They even have a list of "111 Essential Articles and Essays We Think You Really Need To Read" under the Favourites section as well as other reading lists the website editors have compiled under Collections. Pretty neat!

2. The Atlantic

Nearly 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism

For something a little more serious, Conor Friedersdorf, a staff writer at The Atlantic, has compiled nearly 100 fantastic pieces of journalism, which are his personal picks for the best non-fiction of 2010. Breaking news come and go, but great essays/articles will never be forgotten. Readers can choose to read articles based on different topics such as "The Art of Storytelling", "Crime and Punishment", "Food", "This Is A Business", and more.

3. Long Reads

search our archive

This archive of long reads from all over the Web allows visitors to search for articles based on topics and article lengths. Here, you can find various kinds of articles that are of different lengths; some are approximately 15 minutes long (under 3,750 words), while others can take more than 60 minutes (over 15,000 words) to read. Long Reads links to new stories from various publications such as The Guardian and Esquire every day. I've read a few articles that were posted on the website, and, my, do they deliver what they promise. Long (but very interesting!) reads. 

Julia

week five: memoir

This month I wondered: would I still be able to call myself a lover of books if I never gave memoir a chance? As it turns out, I probably don't need an answer to that question now that my attitude towards memoir has taken a 180 degree turn. These past two weeks learning about memoir from Stuart, Cam, Benjamin Law, and Kari Gislason has been truly enlightening and engaging. I believe it was Law's Tourism piece that opened my eyes to how interesting this genre can be, and Gislason's memoir, The Promise of Iceland, that sealed the deal for me. The prologue in The Promise of Iceland intrigued me; after a reading the first few pages provided on Blackboard, I immediately found myself walking to the library to borrow a copy of the memoir so I could find out more about Gislason's promise to his absent father. I was drawn to his memories of Iceland.

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I saw Kari Gislason standing in our lecture room preparing to give a guest lecture. Every week at WRIT3050 is a treat, and that day was no different. Who knew that memoir was just as creative as a piece of fiction? And that characterisation was just as important?  

These are some of the neat tips and tricks I learned from this week's lecture and tutorial on memoir:

1. Memoir is about you, but not just about you
In a work that is ultimately about you on paper, the first task is to not view your work as about you. Don't be indulgent--write for the story and the storyline. Making it all about you may be cathartic for you, but boring for your readers.

2. Before you begin writing, define the story
Ask yourself: what is it that you're trying to understand/tell?

3. Understand your function in the piece
You are a major character in your memoir. Who are the other characters? Family? Friends? Strangers? Do you wish to merely convey information, share perspective, or something else? What is unusual in your life or in your way of perceiving life?

4. Structure is pivotal to a story
How you structure the plot creates meaning and helps establish unity of theme. Sometimes writing events in non-chronological order may be more effective than chronological order, or vice versa. Plan how you will manage interweaving and alternating complex plot lines. How will you maintain the focus of the memoir?

I'll be sure to keep these pointers in mind when writing my memoir. Now that I am aware of such techniques, I look forward to seeing how writers employ these techniques and structures in their memoirs, starting with The Promise of Iceland followed by Benjamin Law's The Family Law.

Julia 

week four: shadow boxing

Ever since this semester began, I have become more sensitive to the things I read. We probably never realised it until WRIT3050 made us aware of it, but creative non-fiction articles are all around us. We read it all the time, we just didn't know it fell under the creative non-fiction genre--or at least, I didn't. I always thought of them as just articles. I'm not sure why, but knowing its genre changes how I read CNF pieces now. In a good way. I enjoy picking out the little details taught to us in class, I am actively aware of its theme and angle, I enjoy analysing its structure... Perhaps it's a little nerdy of me, but it's fun!

Anyway, I stumbled upon an article called Shadow Boxing last night, and even though I don't know squat about Mohammad Ali except for the fact that he bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield's ear--um... wait, wasn't it Mike Tyson who did that? I stand corrected. (Many thanks to a friend whom I clarified these facts with.) Back to my point. I really don't know much about Mohammad Ali, but what I do know is that he was amazing at his sport, and that this article by Wright Thompson was really interesting. Because it wasn't about Mohammad Ali, really--it was about Sweet Jimmy, a boxer who once fought Mohammad Ali and who promptly went missing after.

I liked how Thompson successfully piques reader interest in the first few paragraphs, and thoroughly enjoyed his creative depictions of the old man shadow boxing. Thompson does a great job in hooking and reeling his readers in as he attempts to solve the mystery of the missing Sweet Jimmy. Even though it gets slightly draggy in the middle, Thompson manages to hold my curiosity right until the end, which I am thankful for because the epilogue is beautiful:

Even Ali is a prisoner in his own body, a ghost like Sweet Jimmy, lost in a different way. He paid a price for his fame, just as the men who fought him paid a price for their brush with it. Nothing is free. Confronting the wreckage reminds me of an old magazine story, written by Davis Miller. There's a haunting moment, in 1989 when things were turning bad. Ali stands at the window of his suite on the 24th floor of the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. His once booming voice comes out a whisper.

"Look at this place," he says. "This big hotel, this town. It's dust, all dust. Don't none of it mean nothin'. It's all only dust."

A fighter jet lands at an Air Force base out on the desert. Ali watches it through the glass, the lights on the strip so bright it seems like they'll burn forever.

"Go up in an airplane," he says. "Go high enough, and it's like we don't even exist."

Not only is the article well written, but there's a life lesson to be learned from it as well.

Julia