Notable Narratives

A radio producer and print reporters partner on a narrative for multiple platforms

A radio producer and print reporters partner on a narrative for multiple platforms

EDITOR’S NOTE: Read an annotation of the prologue and first act of This American Life’s “Anatomy of Doubt.”CAUTION: The stories linked to and discussed in this package describe details of…
June 2, 2021
Carly Stern
Ernest Hemingway's true and lasting writing lessons

Ernest Hemingway’s true and lasting writing lessons

A new documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick explores the complexity of the man, and the legacy of his work
May 4, 2021
Dale Keiger
Lessons in the purpose of poetic language from a presidential inauguration

Lessons in the purpose of poetic language from a presidential inauguration

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of two posts today analyzing the power of the presidential inaugural poem delivered Jan. 20, 2020, by Amanda Gorman, and reflecting on its place in…
January 21, 2021
Roy Peter Clark
America's first hip-hop inaugural poem ties history to the present, optimism to urgency

America’s first hip-hop inaugural poem ties history to the present, optimism to urgency

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of two posts today analyzing the power of the presidential inaugural poem delivered Jan. 20, 2020, by Amanda Gorman, and reflecting on its place in…
January 21, 2021
Lisa Grace Lednicer
The enduring power of John Hersey's "Hiroshima": the first "nonfiction novel"

The enduring power of John Hersey’s “Hiroshima”: the first “nonfiction novel”

On the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb, Hersey's taut, unflinching story remains a masterpiece of narrative reporting
August 6, 2020
Jacqui Banaszynski
How F. Scott Fitzgerald guided the hand and aspirations of a newspaper journalist

How F. Scott Fitzgerald guided the hand and aspirations of a newspaper journalist

Early in my career, while working in Minnesota as a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, I fell in love with F. Scott Fitzgerald, the city’s most famous native…
June 4, 2020
Lisa Grace Lednicer
The news joins the rituals of mourning

The news joins the rituals of mourning

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece is published in partnership with our friends at the Poynter InstituteI was half-way through an essay on how the experience of news — especially in the…
May 28, 2020
Roy Peter Clark
Four hundred years of harsh history delivered in 8,000 unflinching words

Four hundred years of harsh history delivered in 8,000 unflinching words

Nikole Hannah-Jones anchors "The 1619 Project" in the New York Times with a reported essay that weaves historical events and personal experience
January 17, 2020
Lisa Grace Lednicer
A narrative "troika:" direct testimony, news analysis and biographical journalism

A narrative “troika:” direct testimony, news analysis and biographical journalism

It was probably aimed more at the American public than its media, but one message embedded in former Ambassador William B. Taylor Jr.’s recent prepared remarks to a Congressional impeachment…
November 5, 2019
Ron Judd
Will this date ever fade?

Will this date ever fade?

It’s that date again. The one we might even not think about for awhile, or at least send to a distant corner, until it’s upon us with the force and…
September 11, 2019
Jacqui Banaszynski