Issue 05 / 1996
5 / Fathers and Fatherhood
Personal truths and shared memories: it's complicated
Though this issue is dedicated to fathers and fatherhood, on a deeper level, the stories explore the idea of personal truth—the notion that a writer can remain perfectly factual, yet also write from a subjective perspective, tinged with interpretation and shared memories. The authors’ recollections and responses collected in this issue may not always reflect reality as others see it, but that doesn’t make them any less true, or certainly, any less compelling and dramatic. Family, after all, is complicated.
“Fathers and Fatherhood” features work by Phillip Lopate, Hilary Masters, A. D. Coleman, Pam Widener, and others.
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FROM THE EDITOR: Permission to Lie?
For a memoir about her family, a novelist and former journalist whom I know manipulated the transition from fiction to nonfiction. When she began her book, she felt blocked by the perceived conflict between the two genres, unable to comfortably employ the novelistic techniques of scene, dialog and description.Delivering Lily
Ever since expectant fathers were admitted into delivery rooms a few decades ago, they have come armed with video cameras and awe. Before I became a father, I often heard men describe seeing the birth of their baby as “transcendental,” the greatest experience in their lives.Son of Spoon River
The photographer from Newsweek has walked me around to the rear of St. Pat’s and to a corner in the gothic masonry where the light is even. He has pulled a light meter out of his kit and holds it before my face.“ADaddy’s Loss
Daddy loved to tell stories, but he never told anyone the story of his hand. We were forbidden to talk about his hand being gone, to ask questions about what happened, to ever be able to offer help in words.Hypothetical History of an Actual Photograph
Sometime during the period 1950-1973—there is reason, though without assurance, to assume that it happened circa late 1973—a young man, possibly North American by birth but clearly of African descent, entered a photo booth, perhaps located in theTimes Square district of New York City, with the intent of making a series of self-portraits.Night Rhythms
I leave Dean’s bedside to make 2 a.m. rounds. His are the only lights, besides those in the nursing station, that are on. The in-patient unit at the children’s hospital is dim and empty—silent except for a metallic hum that can be heard, just barely, in the air.My Two Wars
Two excerpts from Moritz Thomsen’s memoir about his involvement with two outrageous catastrophes—World War II and his father—”the two big wars in my life”—from which he was never able to disengage.Off Islander: Excerpts from a Nantucket Journal
Snow. Fire. Waves. The three hypnotists. Perhaps it is the incessant motion of each that keeps us staring or the deceptive domesticity (campfire; greeting card) beyond which, biding its time, waits danger.Out of Nothing
Back in high school, in New York City, I had a teacher (a mentor, a friend) who took to my writing voice unconditionally, embracing it with the passion that was his trademark—a singular passion.WhenRoyal Crown
The summer I turned 15, I started working for Royal Crown Cola, spent my entire summer vacation loading empties onto the bottling line in the plant in Phoenix, where my dad had been transferred.HeSelf-Interview
This is a setup, right? It’s all a setup, right? I mean, I am not sitting somewhere shooting my mouth off to somebody sitting the same somewhere with me.Interview with John T. Price
I think our relationship as writers to our individual creations frequently take on personal dimensions that are difficult to explain. This may be particularly true for creative nonfiction writers who draw directly upon their most intimate thoughts and experiences.Interview with Hilary Masters
CNF interviews Hilary Masters, author of “Son of Spoon River”“Royal Cown”: An interview with Bret Lott
CNF interviews Bret Lott, author of "Royal Crown"“Delivering Lily”: An interview with Phillip Lopate
CNF interviews Phillip Lopate, author of “Delivering Lily”“Daddy’s Loss”: an interview with Anne Morgan Gray
CNF interviews Anne Morgan Gray, author of "Daddy Issues"Hypothetical History of an Actual Photograph: An interview with A. D. Coleman
CNF interviews A.D. Coleman, author of "Hypothetical History of an Actual Photograph"Interview with Pam Widener
CNF interviews Pam Widener, author of "Out of Nothing"