A narrative nonfiction reading list
My
gig as visiting writer at Montana State University-Billings is about
one-third complete, and I'm enjoying teaching
“Finding and Telling the Story: Narrative Nonfiction,” the
advanced writing workshop that's listed under four categories in the
English and Honors departments. The students are intelligent,
motivated, and generally well-prepared. The institution has been very
supportive.
And
friends have been very curious. What are we reading? The bedrock for
the course is Jon Franklin's Writing
for Story, an
easy-to-read how-to. For easy insight into how an author made certain
choices, we're reading selections from my Stories
from Montana's Enduring Frontier.
But additionally, we're reading some famous pieces that have appeared
in American magazines over the last 25 years, including the
following:
Gary
Smith, “Shadow
of a Nation”
Susan
Orlean, “The
American Man, Age 10”
Peter
Hessler, “Dr.
Don”
Michael
Paterniti, “Driving
Mr. Albert”
Michael
Lewis, Before
'The Big Short': Michael Lewis' first take on the financial collapse
(first 2,000 words) or “Wall
Street on the Tundra”
Laura
Secor, “War
of Words”
Chuck
Klosterman, “Why
I Am Rooting For Duke”
Jess
Walter, “Statistical
Abstract for My Home of Spokane, Washington”
For
me one of the great joys of the course is revisiting some of my
favorite works and discussing them with others. Perhaps you will find
some gems on this list as well.
Labels: narrative
