Category Archives: symbolism

September 15, 2011

An ancient lesson in structure

A version of this post first ran October 3, 2008 The King James Bible’s stories and ancient words and lovely turns of phrase have influenced legions of writers. I’m charmed by its liberal use of sobering colons: like so. And … Continue reading →

11 Comments

Filed under NOTED, punctuation, scene, structure, symbolism, theme

Tagged as ,

August 6, 2011

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 →

9 Comments

Filed under memoir, metaphor, symbolism, syntax

Tagged as , , , ,

December 27, 2008

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 →

Leave a Comment

Filed under metaphor, NOTED, research, symbolism, technique

Tagged as ,

December 21, 2008

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 →

1 Comment

Filed under braids, threads, creative nonfiction, metaphor, narrative, NOTED, symbolism, teaching, technique

Tagged as ,

November 30, 2008

Melville’s thematic fluidity

This is a guest post by Tom Gilbert, my son, a college sophomore majoring in philosophy and film. “To write a mighty book you must choose a mighty theme.” –Herman Melville, Moby-Dick “Everyone knows I’m not a folk singer,” says … Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under existentialism, fiction, narrative, structure, symbolism, technique, theme

Tagged as , , , , ,

September 1, 2008

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 →

4 Comments

Filed under metaphor, symbolism, teaching, theme

Tagged as