Feb 29, 2012

Creative Non-Fiction

Have you dabbled in or extensively read creative non-fiction (CNF)? Last semester, in Michigan Lit, we read a healthy chunk of CNF works. Most of them were short stories, but we also read House of Fields, by Anne-Marie Oomen. Have you heard of House of Fields? Probably not.

House of Fields takes place in the county below my own. I live in a rural area of West Michigan and Anne-Marie's CNF work explores what it was like for her as a girl in the late 1950's and early 1960's. She discusses her tumultuous journey toward becoming a reader and the pleasures and dangers of living out in the middle of nowhere.

I'd really like you to take a look at House of Fields, but I am not sure if you'd find it. I'd lend you my copy, but the margins contain another story.

Instead, I am wondering if you have examples of your own creative non-fiction. I think I am heading in that direction for my honors project for Children's Lit and Creative Writing:

"I spent my first ride in a plane looking for my brother’s body. My father rented a plane from Mason County Airport at something like $75 an hour. There were four seats; one for the pilot, my dad, my step-mom, and me.
                My parents often referred to me as Eagle Eyes because they believed I had better than average sight; I certainly saw more than the average person. At fourteen, they still called me Eagle Eyes even though I had been complaining that I could not see the whiteboards in the classrooms, especially when the teacher used a red marker.
                Thousands of feet above Mason County, I saw orchards, barns, and supermarkets at a whole new perspective. I saw my middle school and it was a tiny white rectangle with wonky angles. It did not at all resemble the ominous halls of judgment that I saw every school day from the ground."

14 comments:

  1. I'm having a hard time thinking of any CNF material, in book form, that I've read.

    Then again, I am still half asleep this morning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspected most of you would not have read CNF. It's more of an up and coming genre than anything else.

      Delete
  2. Jon,

    You are an excellent writer. I would read your memoir, fo sheezy.

    As far as myself, my past is too dark for non-fiction, but I have read some. I particularly like biographies. Isaacson's on Einstein was very good, and I really enjoyed the Dalai Lama's autobiography.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did you know even after receiving my literature degree some ninet...a long time ago, I'd never heard of it referred to as creative non-fiction until you mentioned it? Somehow the more I read my own creative non-fiction (in blog form) the more I believe that I'm creating actual fiction :) I TRY to keep it real...yo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When we learned about CNF in lit last year, my prof said is was very new, having started in the late 90's at Michigan State University.

      If you Google the term, you'll be amazed by how much comes up.

      Delete
  4. Well written, Jon. This is the first I've heard of CNF!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love creative nonfiction when it's done well. :)

    I love that every time I come to your blog, there is a different header! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like when it's done well too, Laura! I hope I will some day be among those who are great at it.

      And this current header is here to stay! (supposedly)

      Delete
  6. Interesting. I'm trying to wrap my brain around the oxymoron that is "Creative NonFiction". Is it like high interest? Or NonFiction that reads like a novel like A Civil Action or Dark Tide?

    I need more information!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know. It's a funny dynamic. I think narrative non-fiction is a great synonym for CNF.

      What I wrote above, does it feel like non-fiction to you?

      Delete
  7. Very engaging, Mr. Arntson. My question is, how would CNF based on somebody's experiences be different from a memoir?

    Also wondering about the CNF book that takes place in West Michigan. Would that be Oceana County? Because I've lived in Shelby.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ray! A memoir is non-fiction, but bound entirely by truth (supposedly). CNF allows the author to not claim that the entire novel is accurate or presented in the most accurate light. For instance, if James Frey had taken the CNF angle for his work A MILLION LITTLE PIECES, he would be in a very different place nowadays.

      HOUSE OF FIELDS does take place in Oceana County, between Hart and Walkerville. I highly recommend you read it.

      The way Oomen describes the events of her childhood shows how she is less concerned with accuracy and more concerned with writing a good story.

      Delete

:D