The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction [Paperback]

Dinty W. Moore (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321277619 | ISBN-13: 978-0321277619 | Publication Date: March 13, 2006 | Edition: 1

This introduction to creative nonfiction examines the building blocks of nonfiction prose one by one, illustrating how individual voice and narrative strategies delineate this literary form from conventional nonfiction. Individual chapters are devoted to detail and description, characterization and scene, distinctive voice, intimate point-of-view, and the various ways in which writers discover the significance or universality of their work.  Essays from contemporary nonfiction writers such as Henry Louis Gates, Norma Elia Cantú, Pico Iyer, Joan Didion, and others are integrated directly into the text to illustrate concepts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 1 edition (March 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321277619
• ISBN-13: 978-0321277619
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dinty W. Moore was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, and spent his formative years fishing for bluegill, riding a bike with a banana seat, and dodging the Sisters of St. Joseph. He earned a BA in writing from the University of Pittsburgh, worked briefly as a journalist, and also served short stints as a documentary filmmaker, modern dance performer, zookeeper, and Greenwich Village waiter. It was only after failing at each of these professions that he went on to earn an MFA in fiction writing from Louisiana State University.

A National Endowment for the Arts fellowship recipient, Moore has guest taught creative nonfiction seminars across the United States and in Europe. In addition to editing the internet journal, Brevity, he is on the editorial board of Creative Nonfiction magazine.

Moore teaches writing at Ohio University and serves on the Board of Directors of The Association of Writers & Writing Programs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for teaching essays, memoir, literary nonfiction, November 24, 2008

By 

Richard Gilbert (Westerville, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction (Paperback)

I've used this book twice now in a 300-level undergraduate introduction to narrative nonfiction and it is a complete textbook that can stand alone or be paired with supplemental anthologies, depending on the instructor's focus. The Truth of the Matter is uniquely suitable for teaching nonfiction writing in both English creative writing sequences and in journalism programs interested in joining the nonfiction narrative revolution.

Dinty Moore devotes first third to explaining the genre and its building blocks. Beginning and intermediate writers find these concise chapters valuable for giving them just what they need to craft personal essays, memoirs, and literary journalism. Moore shows the difference between standard "just the facts" reportage and the deeper narrative nonfiction that graces literary journals and magazines such as The New Yorker. There's also an astute discussion of structure, including of such innovative forms as collage and braided essays, with examples of them included in the anthology section.

As a former journalist turned essayist and memoir writer, I loved the inclusion of Tracy Kidder's trenchant "Making the Truth Believable," in which Kidder explains his fidelity to external reality and shows how choosing the wrong point of view can lead a writer into dishonesty. As a strict constructionist myself--the creativity is in the discovery of truth and in its presentation; you don't make things up--I appreciate this as well as Moore's own emphasis throughout on honesty.

The book's anthology includes four conemporary concise essays and such classic conventional-length essays as "Notes of a Native Son" by James Baldwin; "The Courage of Turtles" by Edward Hoagland; and "The Search for Marvin Gardens" by John McPhee. Great contemporary essays that give students access to their own material include Tony Early's "Somehow Form a Family"; Philip Gerard's "What They Don't Tell You About Hurricanes"; Lucy Grealy's "Mirrorings"; and Terry Tempest Williams's "The Clan of One-Breasted Women."

I highly recommend this book for students and teachers. It is a deft guide to a popular genre that can be confusing in its variety.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Readers and Writers, January 22, 2007

By 

Sheryl DeGenring (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction (Paperback)

Dinty Moore's The Truth of the Matter would be worth ever cent just for the anthology selections, which feature the best of the best narrative non-fiction writers. Putting down these wonderful stories is difficult but also worthwhile because the step-by-step instructions, assignments and revision techniques featured in the first part of the book are the most helpful I've ever discovered. Mr. Moore, like any good writer, is able to "show" vs. "tell" writers how to apply the techniques that matter.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly beneficial in the classroom, November 10, 2011

By 

AdamC - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction (Paperback)

I just finished teaching a seminar to high school seniors about the art of the personal essay and Dinty Moore's book was a godsend for them. He emphasizes a lot of terrific points in this book but what I focused on in my teaching was making your experiences the readers' experiences. Without using esoteric language, Moore makes his perspective on the craft of creative nonfiction easy to understand and easily applicable in the classroom. The writing exercises he provides at the end of each chapter are also highly credible and I even use them to assist my writing. I simply can't say enough good things about this book. Anyone interested in creative nonfiction, or simply creative writing, should have this on their shelves for reference.