Issue 22 / 2004
22 / Creative Nonfiction in the Crosshairs
This issue responds to the recent barrage of criticism from journalists and critics of the genre.
In her essay “Zane Grey on a Carousel in Indian Territory,” Diana Hume George exposes long-standing stereotypes of Native American men as sexual predators, inspired by a hackneyed Hallmark made-for-TV Easter special. In “Hoop Sex,” novelist Theodore Weesner, author of Car Thief and other highly praised fiction, explores the inherent sexuality in recreational sports, specifically basketball.
Erin O’Neill’s “East Wind” deftly fuses memoir and travelogue in a lyrical reflection on foreign landscapes, both physical and familial. Laurie Lynn Drummond tells funny, often frightening stories about her days as a police officer in Baton Rouge. Sallie Tisdale, author of the best-selling Talk Dirty to Me, discusses the complications of having work reprinted, reproduced, edited, and degraded by inane “review questions” in introductory literature textbooks.
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What’s the Story #22
In the lead essay in this issue, “Creative Nonfiction in the Crosshairs,” I respond to the recent barrage of criticism from journalists and critics about creative nonfiction and the evolution of the literature of reality.Creative Nonfiction in the Crosshairs
What does it mean to be creative? And what is so difficult or terrible about contemplating the term? Nonfiction writers aren’t boasting or bragging by utilizing the word in describing what we do—creative nonfiction—and it is not a term that we have coined randomly.A Different Person
In Amman, giant Pepsi cans rotate on the roofs of bus stations, Kellogg’s corn flakes line the market shelves, and I can buy Neutrogena soap in a mall.Girl, Fighting
The first time I got punched in the face—punched, not slapped or shoved or struck or thumped by a flying elbow gone astray, but punched as in a fist landing squarely on the lower quadrant of my right cheek—it was delivered just after midnight in an apartment parking lot off Airline Highway in south Baton Rouge by a man at least 5 inches taller and a good 70 pounds heavier than I was.East Wind
My sister and I are driving through the Namib Desert in a pickup truck equipped with two gas tanks, two spare tires and 60 liters of water. We have so much food that we offer bowls of curried chicken to the men who work at the game parks and bags of apples to the children who untie gates so we can drive on their communal land.Zane Grey on a Carousel in Indian Territory
“Are you part Indian?” I’ve been asked this question all my adult life, especially before my hair went partly gray. No Native American would ever mistake me for a two-heart, but white people often have.On Being Text
I make a little money now and then by reprinting certain of my essays in college textbooks. Most such books are simply collections of essays, stories and the occasional poem, interspersed with lessons and exercises.Hoop Sex
The park is hardly a block away, where lighted ball diamonds come into view on ducking through branches. There, too, is a fenced acre for unleashed dogs, a half dozen tennis courts with yellow balls flying and, close by, a game of summertime hoop under the lights, a scrambling, squeaking, stampede of sweat and bodies on green tarmac.Roadkill
The teeth won’t come out, even when I pull hard. It’s because the carcass isn’t old enough. The skull wants to keep the teeth, refuses to be broken apart. Sometimes the teeth shatter in the jaws of the Leatherman tool I keep, along with a pair of work gloves and a Ziploc bag, under the front seat of my car.Drowning by Numbers
It’s early on a Sunday night, late October, in Berkeley, California. The forecasted rain shows no sign of materializing and I am feeling relatively unburdened.Innocents Abroad, 2002
You can almost guess from the map that Japan is a country of calculated spaces and deep reserve.Interview with Michael Pearson
Michael Pearson answers CNF's questions about his essay, "Innocents Abroad, 2002"Interview with Theodore Weesner
Theodore Weesner discusses his essay, "Hoop Sex"Interview with Diane Hume George
Diane Hume George discusses her essay "Zane Grey on a Carousel" with CNFInterview with Erica Crowell
Erica Crowell chats with CNF about her essay, "Drowning"