Articles

Jack Hitt on the birth of live-action TV news in "What Goes Up"

Jack Hitt on the birth of live-action TV news in “What Goes Up”

When Jack Hitt got an assignment to write about Jerry Foster, a daredevil helicopter pilot who worked for a TV station in Phoenix in the ’70s and ’80s, he thought…
December 12, 2017
Katia Savchuk
What does poetry have to do with journalism? Quite a bit, actually. Read on.

What does poetry have to do with journalism? Quite a bit, actually. Read on.

It was Poetry Week on Storyboard, which is pushing the envelope a bit for a site that explores the art and craft of narrative nonfiction. But I would argue that…
December 8, 2017
Kari Howard
Poetry finds a (calming) home in the hurly-burly of 21st century New York

Poetry finds a (calming) home in the hurly-burly of 21st century New York

Just a stone’s throw away from the high-finance hustle of the World Trade Center in NYC, I came across a simple blue-and-white sign on a glass door that read: The…
December 7, 2017
Jasmine Bager

“Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.”

Why is it great? This gorgeous definition of poetry could easily apply to literary journalism. Some of the best stories aren’t about something we’ve never heard of, but illuminates something…
December 6, 2017
Kari Howard
Finding lessons for literary journalism in the poetry of Rust Belt chronicler Phil Levine

Finding lessons for literary journalism in the poetry of Rust Belt chronicler Phil Levine

His poems about his hometown, Detroit, were almost cinematic in a precision of detail that would embarrass the most economic writer
December 5, 2017
Thomas Curwen
The power of historical nonfiction: "Let me tell you what happened right on this spot a long time ago"

The power of historical nonfiction: “Let me tell you what happened right on this spot a long time ago”

A weekly roundup of some favorite things, for your reading and listening pleasure
December 1, 2017
Kari Howard
5(ish) Questions: Bridget Huber and “The Living Disappeared” of Argentina

5(ish) Questions: Bridget Huber and “The Living Disappeared” of Argentina

The California Sunday piece unpacks loss and resilience in the aftermath of the country's military dictatorship through the story of one family
November 30, 2017
Alexa Mencia

“NOVEMBER, noun. The eleventh twelfth of a weariness.”

Why is it great? I’ve never read Bierce’s satirical dictionary, but after coming across this sentence, it’s on the list.  With just a few words, he conjures up the dreariness…
November 29, 2017
Kari Howard
Matthew Pearl and "Into the Shadows" (Filed under: You can't make this stuff up)

Matthew Pearl and “Into the Shadows” (Filed under: You can’t make this stuff up)

Matthew Pearl is a sucker for underdog stories, origin stories and untold stories. Those all came together when the author of best-selling historical fiction thrillers such as “The Dante Club” and…
November 28, 2017
Julia Shipley
We look under the storytelling hood, with great tips on pitching *and* writing

We look under the storytelling hood, with great tips on pitching *and* writing

We really looked under the hood of literary journalism this week, with wonderful tips on how to pitch and write your stories. In the second installment of our series “The…
November 17, 2017
Kari Howard