Articles

Jack Hart on “Storycraft” and narrative nonfiction as an American literary form

A soup-to-nuts look at narrative nonfiction, Jack Hart’s “Storycraft” breaks down different approaches to telling true stories and the components that make or break them. In writing the book, Hart…
October 20, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

“Why’s this so good?" No. 16: David Foster Wallace on the vagaries of cruising

For seven days and seven nights in mid-March of 1995, David Foster Wallace took a cruise. He did not have a very good time. The results of the voyage are…
October 18, 2011
Megan Garber
Amy Harmon on getting readers “to think about the limits of their own tolerance”

Amy Harmon on getting readers “to think about the limits of their own tolerance”

Our latest Editors’ Roundtable looks at “Autistic and Seeking a Place in an Adult World.” Amy Harmon's story follows Justin Canha, an autistic man in his early 20s, and the…
October 14, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
October Editors' Roundtable No. 1: The New York Times on autism and adulthood

October Editors’ Roundtable No. 1: The New York Times on autism and adulthood

Our first October Rountable looks at “Autistic and Seeking a Place in an Adult World,” by Amy Harmon. Harmon tells the story of Justin Canha, a 21-year-old illustrator hoping to…
October 14, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
“Why’s this so good?” No. 15: Michael Lewis’ Greek odyssey

“Why’s this so good?” No. 15: Michael Lewis’ Greek odyssey

Last October, with the Greek bond crisis emerging as a danger to the European economy, Michael Lewis wrote a piece for Vanity Fair about an order of monks accused of…
October 11, 2011
David Dobbs
“Why’s this so good?” No. 14: Sandra Cate on DIY cooking in a county jail

“Why’s this so good?” No. 14: Sandra Cate on DIY cooking in a county jail

Freed from the captivity of home cookery and the rarefied practice of restaurant criticism, food is now a legitimate lens for thoughtful cultural journalism. It’s also a massive revenue generator…
October 6, 2011
Sarah Rich

What we're reading: surrendering revenge, little girl lost, and a town that disappeared

Required Storyboard reading has been light on humor of late, but there’s some wryness mixed in with the sorrow in Justin Heckert’s look at what nature did to Vaughn, Ga.…
October 5, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Dudley Clendinen on building stories from life and choosing grace in death: “I don't quibble with fate”

Dudley Clendinen on building stories from life and choosing grace in death: “I don't quibble with fate”

Our latest Editors' Roundtable examines Dudley Clendinen's “The Good Short Life,” a career journalist's startling response to being diagnosed with ALS. In addition to two books (“A Place Called Canterbury”…
September 30, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
September Editors' Roundtable No. 2: The New York Times on facing death

September Editors' Roundtable No. 2: The New York Times on facing death

Our second Roundtable of September examines “The Good Short Life,” by Dudley Clendinen. Diagnosed with ALS, Clendinen reflects on the past suffering of those closest to him and decides that he would…
September 29, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Gene Weingarten on “the god of journalism,” compulsive editing and “The Peekaboo Paradox”

Gene Weingarten on “the god of journalism,” compulsive editing and “The Peekaboo Paradox”

After some months spent planning to write about Gene Weingarten's story “The Peekaboo Paradox” for this site, I caught up with the two-time Pulitzer winner in Texas this summer at…
September 28, 2011
Andrea Pitzer