Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
writing
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other
nonfiction, such as
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
or
technical writing
Technical writing is writing or drafting technical communication used in technical and occupational fields, such as computer hardware and software, architecture, engineering, chemistry, aeronautics, robotics, finance, medical, consumer electronics, ...
or
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...
, which are also rooted in accurate fact though not written to entertain based on prose style. Many writers view creative nonfiction as overlapping with the
essay
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
.
Characteristics and definition
For a text to be considered creative nonfiction, it must be factually accurate, and written with attention to
literary style
In literature, writing style is the manner of expressing thought in language characteristic of an individual, period, school, or nation. As Bryan Ray notes, however, style is a broader concern, one that can describe "readers' relationships with, t ...
and technique.
Lee Gutkind
Lee Gutkind is an American writer, speaker, and founder of the literary journal called Creative Nonfiction.
Gutkind has written or edited more than 30 books, covering a wide range of subjects from motorcycle subculture to child and adolescent ...
, founder of the magazine ''
Creative Nonfiction'', writes, "Ultimately, the primary goal of the creative nonfiction writer is to communicate information, just like a reporter, but to shape it in a way that reads like fiction."
[
] Forms within this genre include
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
,
diary
A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
,
travel writing
Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...
,
food writing
Food writing is a genre of writing that focuses on food and includes works by food critics, food journalists, chefs and food historians.
Definition
Food writers regard food as a substance and a cultural phenomenon. John T. Edge, an American food ...
,
literary journalism
Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...
,
chronicle,
personal essays, and other hybridized essays, as well as some
biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
and
autobiography. Critic Chris Anderson claims that the genre can be understood best by splitting it into two subcategories—the personal essay and the journalistic essay—but the genre is currently defined by its lack of established conventions.
[Anderson, page ix.]
Literary critic
Barbara Lounsberry, in her book, ''The Art of Fact'', suggests four constitutive characteristics of the genre: the first is "Documentable subject matter chosen from the real world as opposed to 'invented' from the writer's mind".
By this, she means that the topics and events discussed in the text verifiably exist in the natural world. The second characteristic is "Exhaustive research",
[ which she claims allows writers "novel perspectives on their subjects" and "also permits them to establish the credibility of their narratives through verifiable references in their texts".][Lounsberry, page xiii-xiv] The third characteristic that Lounsberry claims is crucial in defining the genre is "The scene". She stresses the importance of describing and revivifying the context of events in contrast to the typical journalistic style of objective reportage.[Lounsberry, page xiv-xv] The fourth and final feature she suggests is "Fine writing: a literary prose style". "Verifiable subject matter and exhaustive research guarantee the nonfiction side of literary nonfiction; the narrative form and structure disclose the writer's artistry; and finally, its polished language reveals that the goal all along has been literature."[Lounsberry, page xv] Essayist and critic Phillip Lopate
Phillip Lopate (born 1943) is an American film critic, essayist, fiction writer, poet, and teacher. He is the younger brother of radio host Leonard Lopate.
Early life
Phillip Lopate was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated with a BA degr ...
describes 'reflection' as a necessary element of the genre, offering the advice that the best literary nonfiction "captures the mind at work".
Creative nonfiction may be structured like traditional fiction narratives, as is true of Fenton Johnson
John Fenton Johnson is an American writer and professor of English and LGBT Studies at the University of Arizona.
Life
He was born ninth of nine children into a Kentucky whiskey-making family with a strong storytelling tradition.
In February ...
's story of love and loss, ''Geography of the Heart'', and Virginia Holman's ''Rescuing Patty Hearst''. When book-length works of creative nonfiction follow a story-like arc, they are sometimes called ''narrative nonfiction''. Other books, such as Daniel Levitin's '' This Is Your Brain on Music'' and '' The World in Six Songs'', use elements of narrative momentum, rhythm, and poetry to convey a literary quality. Creative nonfiction often escapes traditional boundaries of narrative altogether, as happens in the bittersweet banter of Natalia Ginzburg's essay, "He and I", in John McPhee
John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the four ...
's hypnotic tour of Atlantic City, ''In Search of Marvin Gardens'', and in Ander Monson's playful, experimental essays in ''Neck-Deep and Other Predicaments''.
Creative nonfiction writers have embraced new ways of forming their texts—including online technologies—because the genre leads itself to grand experimentation. Dozens of new journals have sprung up—both in print and online—that feature creative nonfiction prominently in their offerings.
Ethics and accuracy
Writers of creative or narrative non-fiction often discuss the level, and limits, of creative invention in their works and the limitations of memory to justify the approaches they have taken to relating true events. Melanie McGrath, whose book ''Silvertown'', an account of her grandmother's life, is "written in a novelist's idiom", writes in the follow-up, ''Hopping'', that the known facts of her stories are "the canvas on to which I have embroidered. Some of the facts have slipped through the holes—we no longer know them nor have any means of verifying them—and in these cases I have reimagined scenes or reconstructed events in a way I believe reflects the essence of the scene or the event in the minds and hearts of the people who lived through it. ... To my mind this literary tinkering does not alter the more profound truth of the story." This concept of fact vs. fiction is elaborated upon in Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola's book ''Tell It Slant''. Nuala Calvi, authors of '' The Sugar Girls'', a novelistic story based on interviews with former sugar-factory workers, make a similar point: "Although we have tried to remain faithful to what our interviewees have told us, at a distance of over half a century many memories are understandably incomplete, and where necessary we have used our own research, and our imaginations, to fill in the gaps. ... However, the essence of the stories related here is true, as they were told to us by those who experienced them at first hand."
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, there have been several well-publicized incidents of memoir writers who exaggerated or fabricated certain facts in their work. For example:
*In 1998, Swiss writer and journalist Daniel Ganzfried revealed that Binjamin Wilkomirski's memoir ''Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood'', detailing his experiences as a child survivor of the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, contained factual inaccuracies.
*The James Frey
James Frey (born September 12, 1969) is an American writer and businessman. His first two books, ''A Million Little Pieces'' (2003) and '' My Friend Leonard'' (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stories were later f ...
controversy hit in 2006, when ''The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources. Most ...
'' website revealed that Frey's memoir, ''A Million Little Pieces
''A Million Little Pieces'' is a book by James Frey, originally sold as a memoir and later marketed as a semi-fictional novel following accusations of literary forgery. It tells the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic and abuser of other drugs and ...
'', contained experiences that turned out to be fabrications.
*In 2008, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' featured an article about the memoirist Margaret Seltzer, whose pen name is Margaret B. Jones. Her publisher, Riverhead Books, canceled the publication of Seltzer's book, ''Love and Consequences'', when it was revealed that Seltzer's story of her alleged experiences growing up as a half-white, half-Native American foster child
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...
and Bloods
The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includ ...
gang member in South Central Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...
were fictitious.
Although there have been instances of traditional and literary journalists falsifying their stories, the ethics applied to creative nonfiction are the same as those that apply to journalism. The truth is meant to be upheld, just told in a literary fashion. Essayist John D'Agata
John D’Agata (born 1975) is an American essayist. He is the author or editor of six books of nonfiction, including ''The Next American Essay'' (2003), ''The Lost Origins of the Essay'' (2009) and ''The Making of the American Essay''—all part ...
explores the issue in his 2012 book ''The Lifespan of a Fact
''The Lifespan of a Fact'' is a book co-written by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal and published by W.W. Norton & Company in 2012. The book is written in a non-traditional format consisting of D’Agata's 2003 essay “What Happens There” in black ...
''. It examines the relationship between truth and accuracy, and whether it is appropriate for a writer to substitute one for the other. He and fact-checker Jim Fingal have an intense debate about the boundaries of creative nonfiction, or "literary nonfiction".
Literary criticism
There is very little published literary criticism of creative nonfiction works, despite the fact that the genre is often published in respected publications such as ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', '' Vanity Fair'', '' Harper's'', and ''Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
''. A handful of the most widely recognized writers in the genre such as Robert Caro
Robert Allan Caro (born October 30, 1935) is an American journalist and author known for his biographies of United States political figures Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson.
After working for many years as a reporter, Caro wrote '' The Power ...
, Gay Talese
Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with ...
, Joseph Mitchell, Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...
, John McPhee
John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the four ...
, Joan Didion
Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer. Along with Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, she is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won ...
, John Perkins, Ryszard Kapuściński
Ryszard Kapuściński (; 4 March 1932 – 23 January 2007) was a Polish journalist, photographer, poet and author. He received many awards and was considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kapuściński's personal journals in bo ...
, Helen Garner and Norman Mailer have seen some criticism on their more prominent works. "Critics to date, however, have tended to focus on only one or two of each writer's works, to illustrate particular critical points."[Lounsberry, page xvi] These analyses of a few key pieces are . As the popularity of the genre continues to expand, many nonfiction authors and a handful of literary critics are calling for more extensive literary analysis of the genre. The genre of the personal essay is periodically subject to predictions of its demise.
See also
*Docufiction
Docufiction (or docu-fiction) is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or cinéma vérité) a ...
*Documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
*Essay
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
*Ethnofiction
Ethnofiction refers to a subfield of ethnography which produces works that introduces art, in the form of storytelling, "thick descriptions and conversational narratives", and even first-person autobiographical accounts, into peer-reviewed academi ...
* Gonzo journalism
* New Journalism
New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, that uses literary techniques unconventional at the time. It is characterized by a subjective perspective, a literary style reminiscent of long-form non- ...
*Nonfiction novel
The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious conversations and uses the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherwi ...
*Roman à clef
''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship be ...
References
Further reading
Chronological order of publication (oldest first)
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
''Creative Nonfiction''
a magazine and resource devoted to the creative nonfiction genre
''Hippocampus Magazine''
an online magazine focusing solely on creative nonfiction, founded in 2010
''River Teeth''
a journal of nonfiction narrative
''Fourth Genre''
explorations in nonfiction
''Shadowbox Magazine''
a biannual journal of creative nonfiction
''Poets & Writers''
a nonprofit literary organization serving poets, fiction and creative nonfiction writers
Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction (Canada)
Creative Nonfiction Bibliography
Joan Clingan, Prescott College
Prescott College is a private college in Prescott, Arizona.
History
In 1965, the Ford Foundation brought together a group of educators from around the United States. Prescott College was the result of this gathering.
The college was originall ...
''PodLit''
Creative Nonfiction Podcast
UC Irvine Literary Journalism Degree Program
''The Sugar Girls'' website
1966 - A Journal of Creative Nonfiction
a literary magazine devoted to the creative nonfiction genre
Resources for CNF Writers
- a list of resources for creative nonfiction writers
Audio/video links
Audio CSPAN – Interview with Lee Gutkind
gives a definition of the genre
Audio CSPAN – Interview with Lee Gutkind
gives examples of authors who write in the genre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creative Nonfiction
Non-fiction genres
Types of journalism
Newswriting
Non-fiction literature