Journal 8: Katie

Part 1:
From reading the creative non-fiction chapter I have learned how easily it can be for writers to make an opinion come across in a piece without overtly saying it. It comes out in the words they string together in their essay's. Brian Doyle, one can tell he is fascinated by hearts. He talks about hummingbird hearts, whale hearts, and human hearts in detail. He explains how magnificent they are without saying they are magnificent. He very directly points to his opinion in a way that is not misinterpreted by others. The story that has taught me the most about creative non-fiction would be Rebecca McClanahan in Liferower. She strung together many ideas seamlessly that made sense to me. I feel like  my mind jumps between thoughts much like the speaker's did in the story. It taught me that my pattern of thinking is a form of art that I was unaware previously. This can be seen in the lines "I pump my legs and pull the rope. In a large area beside the rowing machines, a yoga class begins. The instructor greets the sun, breathing in prana, the invisible life force: in through the nose, out through the mouth." While the whole time the speaker is thinking of the things happening around her, she is jumping from observation to observation with a flow that still ties together.

Part 2:
The essay I read: http://thenormalschool.com/mr-plimptons-revenge-by-dinty-w-moore/
 The story is in the little chat bubbles FYI.

The magazine I found it in was "The Normal School- A Literary Magazine". It publishes non-fiction, fiction and poetry on its site. I found the essay on the home page. They seem to have a new piece published everyday or about every other day. After more poking around on the site I have learned they publish bi-annually. It looks like the people who work there have a good sense of humor as well.

What I learned from the essay is that an essay does not have to look like a typical school essay. This writer used a map as a background and used it to help establish setting in their story. The writer also used text boxes/ thought bubbles to type in, which I found very light hearted and fun. The examples we read in the book seemed to more serious than this essay, so I appreciated seeing a less serious essay published.