The Best Creative Nonfiction (Vol. 3) [Paperback]

Lee Gutkind (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Best Creative Nonfiction | Publication Date: August 3, 2009

“Intelligent but accessible, and often poignant . . . [by] the biggest talents on the essay and blog beat.” —Publishers Weekly (on Vol. 2)

Anyone still asking, “What is creative nonfiction?” will find the answer in this collection of artfully crafted, true stories. Selected by Lee Gutkind, the “godfather behind creative nonfiction,” and the staff of Creative Nonfiction, these stories—ranging from immersion journalism to intensely personal essays—illustrate the genre’s power and potential. Edwidge Danticat recalls her Uncle Moïse’s love of a certain four-letter word and finds in his abandonment of the word near the end of his life the true meaning of exile. In “Literary Murder,” Julianna Baggott traces her roots as a novelist to her family’s “strange, desperate (sometimes conniving and glorious) past” and writes about her decision, in The Madam, to kill off a character based on her grandfather. And Sean Rowe explains why, if you must get arrested, Selma, Alabama, is the place to do it. This exciting and expansive array of works and voices is sure to impress and delight.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With the big subjects of life and death framing the smaller frustrations of everyday existence, this third volume in the Creative Nonfiction series showcases a type of journalism that in many ways is informed by cutting-edge media. Indeed, of the 25 essays reprinted, one-quarter first appeared on the Web. As diverse as the subjects are, so are the writers represented. Likewise, there is a range in length, from blogs under one page to 20-page narratives. Predictably, the essays also display varying levels of inspiration and sparkle. Among the standouts is five-time Pushcart winner Brenda Miller on a girl's changing relationship with her body as she grows into womanhood; Edwidge Danticat on an uncle's love of the ultimate expletive; an emotional Letter from a Japanese Crematorium by Marie Mutsuki Mockett; a family car deal gone awry by Margaret Conway; an exploration of the meaning of the mass murders at Virginia Tech through the sad eyes of gunman Seung-Hui Cho by Wesley Yang. The energetic Gutkind (Almost Human) edits his lean anthology with panache and gusto. (Aug.)
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About the Author

Lee Gutkind is the founder and editor of the literary journal Creative Nonfiction and a pioneer in the field of narrative nonfiction. Gutkind is also the editor of In Fact and Becoming a Doctor, the author of Almost Human, and has written books about baseball, health care, travel, and technology. A Distinguished Writer in Residence at Arizona State University, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Tempe, Arizona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Original edition (August 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393330257
• ISBN-13: 978-0393330250
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anthologizing narrative nonfiction, November 7, 2009

By 

Nicole (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Creative Nonfiction (Vol. 3) (Paperback)

Reading <em>The Best Creative Nonfiction</em> is like reading several magazine feature stories. It carries all the pleasure of this—it is interesting, relaxing despite the often tense and sometimes upsetting subject matter, and varied. As a person who enjoys reading stories like these, "narrative nonfiction," but who doesn't often sit down and fall into a magazine the way I do into a full-length book, this was a nice chance to get in that kind of reading.

Of course, it also carries with it the downsides of that type of reading. Some of the subjects just won't end up appealing to you; neither will some of the essayists. Sometimes there is a little too much navel-gazing, though other writers manage to direct their musings more satisfyingly outward. But there were only a couple contributions I found particularly weak, and there were some, including the opening one on jailhouse food, that were pretty great.

The anthology as a whole feels a bit like a chance to read snatches out of a couple dozen different memoirs, without spending enough time with any of the storytellers to get suffocated by them. I've been taken all across the country, across the decades, across the lines of class, with people who have been there and have something to say about it and a good portion of it was worth hearing.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol.3, May 23, 2010

By 

Stephen Balbach (Ashton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Creative Nonfiction (Vol. 3) (Paperback)

I'm a bit disappointed in this issue of Best Creative Nonfiction. Although it has 25 essays, it's only 235 pages long, is Norton cutting costs by reducing page count? It looks wispy on the shelf next to last years whale-like Vol.2 and whispers forebodings about the series future. Reinforcing it's dark mood, there are only a handful of essays that stand out as being good enough to mark as favorites (detailed below).

Part of the problem, I believe, is the selection committee which appears to be dominated by academic women. Almost every essay falls into two camps: the minority identity politics essay (handicap, women, black, gay, etc..) or the dysfunctional family history essay (characterized by a woman retelling a story about their grandfather, mother, uncle, etc..). So we have "good for you" politics mixed with "feel good" sentiment. I think Gutkind should try for a more varied selection process or editorial staff. One suggestion is each issue have a Guest Editor that makes the selection from a sub-set chosen by the permanent editors, similar to the "Best American" series.

My four favorite essays were by Emily Rapp in "Okahandja Lessons" about a handicap woman who travels to Africa and learns handicapped people are looked on differently there than in America. In "The Face of Seung-Hui Cho", Wesley Yang writes probably the strongest essay of the book, about the 2007 shootings at Virgina Tech and how it feels to be a young Asian man in America. It has shades of Oscar Wao. Alice Dreger in "Lavish Dwarf Entertainment" gives a funny and enlightening romp through the world of dwarf entertainers. In the most dramatic piece, Gregory Orr in "Return to Hayneville" recounts his experience of being kidnapped and almost killed in Alabama during the 1960s as a Civil Rights protester. This is a great piece because it's a reminder that many young white people died in the South during that period.