tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3486900733569476872.post3640096902892800785..comments2021-05-18T04:04:41.047-05:00Comments on Grout Nonfiction: Some thoughts on the political art of CNF and John D'AgataNuriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07817166138838373212noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3486900733569476872.post-87589503699194566172012-02-15T12:14:50.650-06:002012-02-15T12:14:50.650-06:00Thanks for the comment, Tracy! I just responded ov...Thanks for the comment, Tracy! I just responded over on the Brevity blog -- http://brevity.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/dagata-redux-new-ways-of-understanding/#comments<br /><br />But I forgot to mention that I do love what you say about not having to choose. Perhaps I'm making exceptions for D'Agata because I was so moved by that book. But like I commented, I really do feel like subjectivity is closely related to the power of his writing.Nuriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07817166138838373212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3486900733569476872.post-57086644686890463052012-02-15T10:47:35.838-06:002012-02-15T10:47:35.838-06:00I love D'Agata's writing for all the reaso...I love D'Agata's writing for all the reasons you cite, Nuria: lyricism, unconventionality, truth-telling that is more (or different) than straight journalism. And yet, it's a false choice to say that either we can have all of that, or we can have facts. It's not an either/or choice in nonfiction, but a both/and. Sentences rooted in verifiable facts can be just as lyrical (or playful or jarring or adventurous or gorgeous) as those rooted in fantasy; and narratives crafted in fidelity to things as they really happened can be just as compelling as those that come to us in a dream. That's the real gift of writing nonfiction for me: we don't have to choose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com