Creative Nonfiction #77: “Resilience” out now
In this issue, Creative Nonfiction #77: “Resilience,” we consider the challenges of living through collective (and too often unacknowledged) grief. How do we keep going in a time of tremendous sorrow? How do we put our experiences to good use? And how do we make room for joy and hope and laughter, too?
READ NOW
- Punching Up | Caroline Hagood
Funny women are bringing serious subjects to the stage and revolutionizing comedy—and creative nonfiction—in the process
- Misery & Company | A. J. Bermudez
Celebrity funerals, social media condolences, roadside memorials, and more: tracing the history of how we experience loss—and how we share it
- 50 Years of Making Nonfiction Creative | Lee Gutkind
How all the different flavors of nonfiction transformed into a literary art
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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
New essays about empathy training for medical students, the smell of fear in wartime, the explosive force of steam, the language of dishonesty, the tenacity of the house moth, and the necessary folly of renovating a home in fire season.
Plus, a grief counselor and former hospice chaplain on the importance of being present for each other during times of loss, a coeditor of a book about school shootings considers the cost of “holding the pain,” and exclusively in the print issue, 11 writers share inspiration on staying motivated, writing about trauma, and finding creativity during a pandemic.
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Upcoming calls for new work
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by WENDY RAWLINGS
from CNF #67: “Starting Over”
With reproductive rights under threat at the Supreme Court level, this piece from 2018 is certainly relevant.
But, as with most of the work we publish here at CNF, the writing is more than merely topical. It’s a nuanced look at the larger (and more positive) effects of small acts of compassion and kindness toward people when they’re being assailed.
And we could all use a bit more of that these days.
RECOMMENDED BY
Chad Vogler, Senior Editor
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CNF’s webinars and self-guided courses can help you get motivated, find a writing community, and more. Here’s what’s coming up:
UPCOMING WEBINARS
SELF-GUIDED CLASSES
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Explore and play with the art of literary assemblage.
Class begins June 6th; enrollment is open until June 24th.
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Since 2011, our online courses have helped thousands of writers tell their stories better.
Firm deadlines. A flexible schedule that fits your needs. And feedback to help you keep writing and improving your work.
This summer, we’re offering 12 different courses—all designed to help you achieve your writing goals. Courses start July 11th. Here’s how we can help you:
FUNDAMENTALS—OPEN TO ALL LEVELS
INTERMEDIATE COURSES
[NOTE: The Experimental Forms, Historical Narratives, Spiritual Writing, The Healing Power of the Artful Essay, and Writing the Lyric Essay courses are full.]
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Selections from CNF’s ongoing micro-essay challenge
Our daily Twitter contest is a great way to get your work into Creative Nonfiction. To join, follow us @cnfonline and tag your submissions #tinytruth.
Here are a few of our recent favorites:
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@aubswrites: After a long winter, we walk on the slushed sidewalk. My dad is visiting Pennsylvania from Mexico. I miss home, I miss him even though he’s next to me. He says, “La cobija del pobre,” the sun is a poor man’s blanket. We walk through the slush, the sun melting ice.
12:22 PM · May 3, 2022
@ConnieKuhns: Insomnia has me roaming my yard. The motion sensors go off as I’m out here with the rabbits and deer. The air smells so rich right before dawn and the birds are as loud as they’ve ever been. In the time before I would just be getting home from the bar.
8:12 AM · May 20, 2022
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@JennRHubbard: Unpacking a box I packed more than a year ago, I get to see what I thought I would need. I find things I’ve missed, things I need to get rid of, and far too many decisions for my tired mind.
4:14 PM · May 20, 2022
@ChrisGNguyen: A box of crocosmia bulbs and dormant poppy roots arrived. Spurred on by mental images of burgeoning flowers everywhere, I dug for hours. Only when I stopped did I see I’d worn off the skin from half my palm. And only when I saw it did it begin to sting.
4:33 PM · May 21, 2022
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WHAT WE’RE READING
- Lit Hub: A Few Notes on the Past (and Possible Future) of Public Mourning
- Brevity: A Fan Letter to Brian Doyle
- Kevin Kelly: 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known
- NY Times: The Believer Goes Home
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FROM THE SUNDAY SHORT READS FLASH ESSAY EMAIL
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