Creative Nonfiction
What is it?
According to the Creative Nonfiction Collective (CNFC), creative
nonfiction (also known as narrative nonfiction) employs writing
techniques more often seen in fiction to engage the reader. Names,
places, dates, objects, quotations and other concrete objects in the
written account can be verified from other sources.
Carolyn Yoder, Senior Editor, History and World Cultures at Highlights
for Children, explains, “The difference between straight nonfiction and
creative nonfiction has to do with structure. Straight nonfiction relies
solely on the parts--the facts for the most part--and not on the whole.
Creative nonfiction is all about the whole--how the parts make it up.
Creative nonfiction, like fiction, is all about story or theme. Creative
nonfiction tends to have strong characters, strong sense of place, rich
details, obvious themes, conflicts, arcs--everything.”
Alternatively known as “literary journalism” or “literature of fact”,
creative nonfiction is that branch of writing which employs literary
techniques and artistic vision usually associated with fiction or poetry
to report on actual persons and events…..The genre, as currently
defined, is broad enough to include nature and travel writing, the
personal memoir and essay, as well as “new journalism”, “gonzo
journalism” and the “nonfiction novel”. –Bruce Hoffman, University
of Pittsburgh English Department (from Bruce Dobler’s Creative
Nonfiction Compendium)
Some examples of creative nonfiction are:
narrative history
biography
travel writing
cultural criticism
personal essays
memoirs
literary journalism
science writing
and much more!
What does it all mean for teachers
and students?
Creative Nonfiction:
-is character driven
-is written using verifiable facts
-is a combination of creative imaginings and factual evidence
-is a way to “humanize” the experience for kids when learning about
historical figures
-allows for richer connections and adds deeper understandings to past
events and people
-“grabs” the attention and piques curiosity of readers
-formats vary widely (graphic novel, picture book, novel, poetry)
-includes text features that mimic nonfiction writing: glossaries, copies
of original documents, photographs, headings, subtitles, historical
notes, maps, author’s notes, suggested reading, etc.
-includes text features that mimic fiction writing: chapters, characters,
plots, story arcs, settings, themes, conflicts, narrator, etc.
Four Pictures by Emily Carr by Nicolas Debon
Published 2003 by Groundwood Books
Four Pictures by Emily Carr focuses on four
paintings that express different periods of
Carr's life. Debon’s illustrations, done in
gouache and India Ink, make the character
of Emily Carr come alive in a unique way.
The medium is a perfect way to express the
qualities of Carr's work as well as to describe
her unconventional life. The endpapers are
Carr's own pencil sketches of Indian
artifacts.
Debon bases his biography on The
Complete Writings of Emily Carr as well as several other books about
her life. The book includes a brief biography of Carr as well as
information on each of the four paintings.
BRAVE DEEDS How One Family Saved Many from the Nazis by Ann
Alma
Published 2008 by Groundwood Books
This is book about bravery in a difficult time and features Frans and
Mies Braal. During the last year of World War II the Nazis no longer
allowed transportation of food and fuel into Holland. The result was the
Dutch Hunger Winter. Many people died of exposure and starvation.
During this difficult time, Frans and Mies hid twenty-six people in a
vacation home on the island of Voorne. The group included Jews, a
downed Canadian airman, starving children and others hiding from the
Nazis.
The book includes a glossary, historical notes and maps, many
photographs, scans of original documents as well as suggestions for
further reading.
Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together
by Herb Shoveller
Published 2006 by Kids Can Press Ltd.
Ryan and Jimmy is the story of a six-year-old Canadian boy’s
determination to build a well in Africa and the series of life-altering
events that followed. He was so shocked to learn at school that there
were children in the world who did not have safe drinking water that
he set about raising money to build a well in Africa. News of his
determination filtered into people’s lives and the ripple effect of his
actions eventually gave rise to the setting up of a foundation. Now,
both Ryan and Jimmy (a child in the village) are involved in the
foundation and have travelled all over the world, raising awareness
about the importance of clean water
The book is full of photographs and maps, scanned letters and
drawings as well as official documentation of Ryan and Jimmy’s
journey and inspiring story.
Curriculum Connections:
Reading
Media
Music
Writing
Oral and Visual Communication
Science
Social Studies
Drama and Dance
History
Geography
Two National Awards for Creative or
Literary Nonfiction
H E C H A R L E S T A Y L O R P R I Z E commemorates Charles
Taylor’s pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction.
Inaugurated in 2000, the prize will be awarded to the author
whose book best combines a superb command of the English
language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and
perception. The prize consists of $25,000 for the winner and $2,000
for each of the runners up as well as promotional support to help all
shortlisted books stand out in the national media, bookstores, and
libraries. Authors whose books have been shortlisted for the prize will
be brought to Toronto for the awards ceremony. The winner will be
invited to read at the International Festival of Authors, held in October
at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.
Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction
The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction was the only such
award in Canada until 2000. The $3,000 annual award was established
by the writer and literary journalist Edna Staebler in 1991 to
encourage and recognize the Canadian writer of a first or second
published book. The book must have a Canadian locale or a particular
Canadian significance.
Creative non-fiction is literary rather than journalistic. The writer does
not merely give information, but intimately shares an experience with
the reader by telling a factual story with the devices of fiction, original
research, well-crafted interpretive writing, personal discovery or
experience, the creative use of language or approach to the subject
matter, dialogue, and narrative.
The Edna Staebler Award is sponsored and administered by Wilfred
Laurier University.
Bibliography
http://cnfcollective.blogspot.com/
-Creative Nonfiction Collective (CNFC)
http://www.susantaylorbrown.com/creativenf.html
-Creative Nonfiction: A True Story Well Told by Susan Taylor Brown
http://www.class.uidaho.edu.druker/coursegoals.htm
http://www.class.uidaho.edu/druker/nonfic.html
-Phil Druker, Department of English/University of Idaho on creative
nonfiction
http://www.pit.edu/~bdobler/readingprt.html
-Bruce Dobler’s Creative Nonfiction Compendium
https://www.wlu.ca/homepage.php?grp_id=2529
https://www.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=2529&p=11279
-Wilfred Laurier University, Edna Staebler Award for Creative NonFiction
http://www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/
-The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction
Four Pictures by Emily Carr by Nicolas Debon
Ryan and Jimmy And the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together
By Herb Shoveller
BRAVE DEEDS How One Family Saved Many from the Nazis
By Ann Alma
The Strongest Man in the World by Ann Alma
Why Things Don’t Work Series by David West
Science Verse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith