And/Or: A Genre Bending Column
If
fiction is the act of creation, then nonfiction is noncreative and
you’re left with a choice: creative nonfiction is a form of writing that
is so limited by its own dilemma that it can accomplish nothing or,
it must always strive to transcend its own contradiction. And/Or is
suspicious of categorization and is reluctant to decide if the
“creative” or the “nonfiction” is more important to the genre. And/Or is
inclined to think it’s the space between them that matters.
Stephen J. West lives and teaches in Morgantown, WV. He studied creative nonfiction at the University of Iowa, and he currently has essays published or forthcoming in Defunct, Prime Number, Zone 3, and PANK. You can follow him on twitter @LOAFbyLOAFWEST, and if you Google him, keep looking—he’s on page two. (Apparently Stephen J. West, Esquire from Ottawa demands the entire first page of results.)
Stephen J. West lives and teaches in Morgantown, WV. He studied creative nonfiction at the University of Iowa, and he currently has essays published or forthcoming in Defunct, Prime Number, Zone 3, and PANK. You can follow him on twitter @LOAFbyLOAFWEST, and if you Google him, keep looking—he’s on page two. (Apparently Stephen J. West, Esquire from Ottawa demands the entire first page of results.)
American History X-Men | 9.1.2011
What responsibility does a writer have to the facts of history? Given the acclaim for the historical revision in X-Men: First class, apparently none.
Meditations on the Misquote Machine | 5.16.2011
When I first read the King misquotation, I connected with its sentiments immediately, probably much like Penn did. I wasn’t sure what my response to Osama bin Laden’s death should be—but I knew I wasn’t going to paint my face and take to the streets draped in an American flag or sing “God Bless America” while doing a keg stand at a USA-themed party. The first time I read it I knew it was false, yet it mattered anyway.
When I first read the King misquotation, I connected with its sentiments immediately, probably much like Penn did. I wasn’t sure what my response to Osama bin Laden’s death should be—but I knew I wasn’t going to paint my face and take to the streets draped in an American flag or sing “God Bless America” while doing a keg stand at a USA-themed party. The first time I read it I knew it was false, yet it mattered anyway.