“I'm not a poet, but I was in the poetry program. And I'm also not much of a nonfiction writer, at least not in the standard sense of nonfiction, nor especially in the way we were thinking about nonfiction back then, in the late 90s.” ThinkingWayPoetLateStandardsProgramNonfiction Author:John D'Agata
“You create your own audience, and your own community of peers, and in some ways you create your own forebears as well.” WayWellsCommunityAudiencePeers Author:John D'Agata
“Back in the day, a lot of our instructors in nonfiction were actually fiction scholars. So they would bring in stories as models for the essay. And in some ways that's a good idea, because we can all learn from other genres. But I think it also made me realize that I literally didn't have an essay model, and that if I wanted one I would have to find it.” IfsThinkingWayMadeIdeasStoriesWantedRealizingFictionModelsGenreGood IdeasNonfictionScholarEssaysInstructorsBack In The Day Author:John D'Agata
“People like to say that Plutarch's is a really "personal" voice, but in truth Plutarch tells us very little about his life. His voice is personable but never personal. It feels intimate because he's addressing the world as we experience it, at this level, a human level, rather than way up here where very few of us live.” PeopleWorldWayFeelsHumansLittlesVoiceLevelsIntimate Author:John D'Agata
“In some ways we want definitions that can help protect our own interpretations of the genre.” WayWantHelpingProtectDefinitionsGenreInterpretation Author:John D'Agata
