A Man of Many Gifts: Omar Mouallem
Lesley Buxton interviews this year’s CNFC contest judge Omar Mouallem.
Lesley Buxton interviews this year’s CNFC contest judge Omar Mouallem.
CNFC stands in solidarity with all those across the country, protesting the injustices continually faced by our BIPOC community.
Lyric Essay A lyric essay uses the techniques of poetry, including compression, sound play, white space, formal innovation, non-linear narrative, and juxtaposition to explore an idea or an experience in the writer’s life. Lyric essays may be structured as collage or mosaic, as braided or woven narratives, as “flash” snapshots, or wedged within the carapace of other forms such as instruction manuals, rejection letters, lists, or maps, and they may also make use of images. They often rely on research…
Rooted in personal experience and often written in an intimate voice, it is also a record of a mind at work, a way of thinking on the page.
Memoir A memoir is an attempt to make artful sense of some aspect or period of the author’s life. The facts may be unusual or traumatic, or they may be ordinary and unremarkable. “What happened” is less important in memoir than the clarity, grace, or originality of the writer’s style and the honest pursuit of self-knowledge. As V.S. Pritchett said, “It’s all in the art. You get no credit for living.” A few examples Joan Didion: “Goodbye to All That.”…
Writing that combines the stylistic techniques of fiction, such as dialogue, character development, and scene-setting, with the nitty-gritty accuracy of reporting and research
Deborah Campbell delivered the keynote presentation on May 6, 2017. Following that, Joy Kogawa was in conversation with Hal Wake.
On May 6, 2017, CNFC founding member Andreas Schroeder gave a much-anticipated workshop about the personal essay as part of the organization’s annual conference. An audio recording of this workshop is now available for all CNFC members. Workshop description: The personal essay is one of the most flexible forms in creative nonfiction. It can include elements of every other genre there is. It can be lyrical, rhetorical, formal, or informal. Its apparent looseness (“a sally through a mazy mind,” as…
Do you miss seeing and talking to your fellow creative nonfiction writers in the long months between conferences? Do you want to develop more awareness of great nonfiction in your own town? The CNFC can help you create your own literary cabaret evening right where you are. We have a modest fund to help with promotion, including the design and distribution of digital flyers or posters, and can contribute toward venue rental, if need be.
Planning on attending the 2016 CNFC Conference in Banff this April? Consider doing a self-directed writing residency while you’re there! Set in the heart of Banff National Park, The Banff Centre provides a perfect retreat setting for writers looking for focus and inspiration. This is the place you can come to be free from distraction and to focus deeply on a creative writing project. What to do Go to the Banff website and follow the outlined steps in this link.…