Category Archives: metaphor
Lane redux: ‘Tower Heist’ & VOD
The wit of Anthony Lane, like the sex life of Grace Kelly, is one of those refined but rustic matters that we can admire readily, and dissect in detail, but never really hope to understand. Or emulate, alas. But he’s … Continue reading →
Filed under film/photography, humor, Lane—Prince Anthony, metaphor, MY LIFE
Tagged as Anthony Lane, Charlie Kaufman
Gail Caldwell 3: more to admire
I. The way, as I said, that Gail Caldwell employs metaphor in Let’s Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship is remarkable. Almost every page includes one. “No, you’re not,” said Caroline, her face as deadpan as a … Continue reading →
Filed under memoir, metaphor, NOTED, syntax, voice
Tagged as Caroline Knapp, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gail Caldwell
More metaphors & Gail Caldwell
Still thinking about Gail Caldwell’s deft metaphors in Let’s Take the Long Way Home, I was struck by these remarkable lines by John Steinbeck from The Grapes of Wrath: Can you live without the willow tree? Well, no, you can’t. … Continue reading →
Filed under emotion, memoir, metaphor, narrative, structure, working method
Tagged as Gail Caldwell, John Steinbeck, Philip Roth, Tom Piazza
Gail Caldwell’s memoir & metaphors
The use of running metaphors in a piece—all related in some way to indigestion or water or loneliness or roller skates, or with a surrealistic or violent cast—will guide the reader in a particular direction as surely as stock can … Continue reading →
Filed under memoir, metaphor, symbolism, syntax
Tagged as Annie Proulx, Caroline Knapp, Gail Caldwell, John Irving, Silvia Hartmann
Playwright David Hare on reality art
David Hare, known as a “verbatim playwright” for his plays taken from news events, gave a lecture on the relationship between nonfiction and art to the Royal Society of Literature in which he drew the distinction between what he does … Continue reading →
Filed under aesthetics, audience, journalism, metaphor
Tagged as David Hare, The Power of Yes
Noted: Annie Proulx
from an interview in The Missouri Review, Vol. XXII, No. 2 “The research is ongoing and my great pleasure. Since geography and climate are intensely interesting to me, much time goes into the close examination of specific regions—natural features of … Continue reading →
Filed under metaphor, NOTED, research, symbolism, technique
Tagged as Annie Proulx, Missouri Review
Noted: Tony Earley
from an interview with Tony Earley conducted by Hattie Fletcher for Nidus “I can’t write any piece, fiction or nonfiction, until I come up with a metaphor. I hate the idea of writing on only one level. Often just walking … Continue reading →
Filed under braids, threads, creative nonfiction, metaphor, narrative, NOTED, symbolism, teaching, technique
Tagged as Nidus, Tony Earley
Deeper into meaning
Ian Frazier tells an amusing story in The New Yorker (May 26, 2008) about a man at a soup kitchen who dismissed Frazier’s credentials as a writing coach. The guy blew off Frazier, sitting at a card table soliciting for … Continue reading →
