INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY

JOURNALISM

Professor Mark Massé

What is Literary Journalism?

Truman Capote:

Author of In Cold Blood said it was “a serious new art form” that combined the power of truth and the drama of story.

Role of Literary Journalism

Using in-depth research/reportage and dramatic storytelling techniques to enhance a reader’s worldview.

Also known as…

This genre of narrative nonfiction writing has been called “the literature of fact.”

Writers depend on advanced reporting, using historical and public records, legal documents, diaries and personal correspondence, and a myriad of material from publications, databases, and Web sites.

Why Literary Journalism?

Effective literary journalism enables readers to gain an enlightened perspective that reveals the extraordinary in everyday life and offers a richer understanding of the facts surrounding an individual, institution, or event.

Criteria

Journalistic Credibility (factual accuracy, ethics) — requires saturation/immersion reporting and field observation

Artistic Merit (literary quality)

Artistic Merit Metaphor

A work of literary journalism is both a window and a mirror.

Window: providing readers with a unique view of the world, a way of life, a subculture

Mirror: providing readers with experiences that make them reflect upon their own lives (the human condition)

Ethical Guidelines

Everything should be verifiable

Use of information not imagination

Creative presentation of facts, not “creation” of facts, scenes, or events

Traditional vs. Literary Journalism

Traditional journalism’s unit of construction is the FACT

Literary journalism’s unit of construction is the SCENE (witnessed or recreated/anecdotal)

A Literary Scene

A literary scene is a dramatic narrative that has a goal, complication, or conflict; has a beginning, middle, and end; and has a structure (e.g., complication, development, point of insight, resolution).

Techniques

Scenes (dramatic narrative)Characterization (psychological depth)Description (sensory/status details)Dialogue (versus quotes)Point of View (versus “objective” stance)Metaphors/SimilesLiterary Style (irony, symbolism, foreshadowing)

Always remember…

The literary journalist is bound by facts, opinions, observations, and other information obtained through research.

Among the Best of 20th Century American Journalism

The following works of literary journalism were chosen from a Top 100 list of the 20th century’s best American journalism by a panel of experts assembled by the New York University School of Journalism. # 1. John Hersey: Hiroshima, 1946# 18. Tom Wolfe: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, 1968# 19. Norman Mailer: The Armies of the Night, 1968

Among the Best of 20th Century American Journalism (cont.)

# 22. Truman Capote: In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences, 1965# 23. Joan Didion: Slouching Towards Bethlehem, 1968# 24. Tom Wolfe: The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, 1965# 25. Michael Herr: Dispatches, 1977

Among the Best of 20th Century American Journalism (cont.)

# 36. Joseph Mitchell: Up in the Old Hotel and Other Stories, 1992

# 43. Gay Talese: Fame and Obscurity, 1970

# 48. Tom Wolfe: The Right Stuff, 1979

# 54. John McPhee: The John McPhee Reader, 1976