Narrative News

Legendary writer John McPhee to a student: "I don't create the writer. At all."

Legendary writer John McPhee to a student: “I don’t create the writer. At all.”

John McPheeJohn McPhee, a master of nonfiction storytelling, became a teacher by accident. In 1974, when he was a fast-rising star at The New Yorker, his alma mater, Princeton University,…
October 2, 2018
Jeffrey R. Young
Welcome to pizza, potluck and a story potlatch

Welcome to pizza, potluck and a story potlatch

I’m writing this from a mash-up of a magazine newsroom in Bucharest. The walls are smelly and stained from a recent flood in the apartment above. Desks are cluttered with…
June 1, 2018
Jacqui Banaszynski
Altered states of storytelling at the L.A. Times Festival of Books

Altered states of storytelling at the L.A. Times Festival of Books

The L.A. Times Book Festival, held over the weekend of April 21-22, is an annual celebration of reading and literary culture in a town often stereotyped as not exactly bookish.…
May 1, 2018
Joanna Scutts
"London is a very dangerous subject for a writer, because it will always betray you"

“London is a very dangerous subject for a writer, because it will always betray you”

This week we pay tribute to London, a city that seems like it’s being pulled in two directions: toward its tremendous past and its wildly creative yet uncertain future. As…
April 13, 2018
Kari Howard
Point of view: a powerful narrative tool

Point of view: a powerful narrative tool

Point of view is a powerful narrative tool. Take, for example, the Newest Americans project that we spotlighted this week. For some politicians and hate-mongerers, immigrants are a scourge. But…
April 6, 2018
Kari Howard
Ida B. Wells and Roxane Gay -- fierce women of color born a century apart, writing of difficult truths

Ida B. Wells and Roxane Gay — fierce women of color born a century apart, writing of difficult truths

Looking back at this week’s posts, I was struck by the similarities between two of the writers we spotlighted. Ida B. Wells was a brave, pioneering investigative journalist who fought…
March 30, 2018
Kari Howard
The Power of Narrative conference captures the #MeToo zeitgeist

The Power of Narrative conference captures the #MeToo zeitgeist

This year’s Power of Narrative conference seemed to capture the #MeToo zeitgeist, with speakers like author Roxane Gay and the Boston Globe’s Sacha Pfeiffer talking about the uncomfortable truths of…
March 29, 2018
Julia Shipley
As spring begins, a last look at winter and its juxtaposition of beauty and hardship

As spring begins, a last look at winter and its juxtaposition of beauty and hardship

This week we celebrated the vernal equinox, this moment of rebirth and hope as we ease out of winter. (Of course, New England got hit with another snowstorm, as if…
March 23, 2018
Kari Howard
Polar opposites: Exploring some very cool writing, the he said/she said version

Polar opposites: Exploring some very cool writing, the he said/she said version

As a near-spring Nor’easter hit New England this week, we showcased two recent stories about polar exploration. What intrigued me were the very different perspectives of the writers and subjects.…
March 16, 2018
Kari Howard
Is literary journalism the peacock of the news world? So much useful beauty

Is literary journalism the peacock of the news world? So much useful beauty

It was John Steinbeck’s birthday this week, and I came across this quote by him: “Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and…
March 2, 2018
Kari Howard