Issue 58 / Winter 2016
58 / The Weather
Humbling encounters with forces beyond our control
Can you believe this weather we’re having?
We’re not just making small talk: Creative Nonfiction #58 is all about the weather. Whether enveloped in fog, stranded in a blizzard, or steering through a sea squall, the writers featured in this issue are battling forces larger than themselves. That’s what the weather does, after all: puts us in our place.
Plus, Al Roker talks about the challenges of writing creative nonfiction; Dot Earth blogger Andrew C. Revkin reflects on 30 years of covering climate change; how technology is changing memoirists’ work; tiny truths; and more.
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What’s the Story #58
"There's an element of mystery to the weather; that's what keeps it interesting"The Power of Something Greater Than Yourself: An Interview with Al Roker
America's weatherman on his accidental television career; why we’re so addicted to watching news coverage of weather events; and the satisfactions of writing booksMy Climate Change
The award-winning environmental writer on how he learned to stop worrying and accept climate changeIn the Grip of the Sky
The constellations of joint pain that announce storm fronts and hurricanesThe Bus Stop
A mother and her child find there is no shelter from the fiercest of stormsRecorded Lightning
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.Capturing the Storm
A tornado photographer flirts with the danger zoneThe Good Captain
An inexperienced crew member doubts her ability to steer alone through a South Pacific squallThe Gray Zone
The fog envelops and imprisonsMy First Baptist Winter
For a recently transplanted son of missionaries, snowy Kansas seems impossibly far from the sunny biblical landsThe Snow
Lost in a surprise blizzard, a young woman trusts a mysterious strangerFinding Truth in Technology
Five memoirists share their favorite tools for recreating scenes and settingSecrets, or Lies?
Searching for truth at the intersection of heritage and historyEden: An Outline
A road map to paradiseBecoming the Wind
"Artists and scientists are curious people, and our work often starts with a question"How Place Makes Us Human
The winner of Creative Nonfiction's 'The Weather' contest talks about her prize-winning essay, "Recorded Lightning"