Sep 01 2008
Creative Nonfiction
So … we looked at the difference between fiction and nonfiction …but we haven’t yet talked about creative nonfiction.
That is not a term that was discussed much when I did my English undergraduate degree - but it sure did come up a lot when I was looking at graduate opportunities in creative writing programs.
Creative nonfiction is defined as factual (nonfiction) content presented with attention to literary form (i.e. written using techniques of fiction)… it further blurs the lines between fiction and nonfiction, in other words.
According to contributors to Wikepedia:
For a text to be considered creative nonfiction, it must be factually accurate, and written with attention to literary style and technique. “Ultimately, the primary goal of the creative nonfiction writer is to communicate information, just like a reporter, but to shape it in a way that reads like fiction.” Forms within this genre include personal essays, memoir, travel writing, food writing, biography, literary journalism, and other hybridized essays. Critic Chris Anderson claims that the genre can be understood best by splitting it into two subcategories–the personal essay and the journalistic essay–but the genre is currently defined by its lack of established conventions.
Comments on the previous article re: the work of David Sedaris suggested to me that perhaps this is where his work fits in? I shall have to find something of his to read for myself to find out, I suppose… recommendations?
I read a “A Walk In the Woods” by Bill Bryson probably meets your criteria. I read it some time ago and was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it. As a general rule, creative nonfiction leaves me cold, but humor is the sauce that makes everything tasty.
For some reason my html stuff seems to be hosed. Just click on “A Walk in the Woods” to follow link.