ENG 151 Prompt
So I'm grading some Informal Writing;
the first prompt
asks that you reflect on one particular
"turning point"
in your life, or a time when you have shifted cultures.
Poor pampered peeps.
Most sheltered students have nothing to say--
they pull out forced narratives
about entering college and being exposed to
alcohol, drugs, and sex for the first time (yeah right).
Or maybe they write about joining
some athletic team (which has merits, but is just boring).
But once in a while,
I get something really moving;
today I read a piece by a young man
who lost a cousin in the 9/11 attacks.
Lots of emotion and detail . . .
the stuff good personal narratives are made from.
Does "good" writing privilege pain and suffering?
If so, why?
posted by SquirrleyMojo @ 4:39 PM
8 Comments:
I have a feeling that, yes, it does; but I don' think that it has to, I think the fact that it usually does privilege pain and suffering reflects more about the state of our world than the state and nature of writing itself. And why is that? I'm still thinking about how to best go about that question.
Yes because pain and suffering creates great emotion. Regular life doesn't..
i dont think so.
ive read stuff about the emotional surge ppl feel when they hold their newborn kids...all thts pretty good stuff
but to consider stuff like getting into college & trying drugs & shit as an emotional experience...tch!
Anyone who's ever been to an amateur poetry reading knows that bad writing privileges pain and suffering for its own sake. I agree with T.S. Eliot that good writing is about an escape from emotion. There's lots of pain and suffering in good writing but maybe it's that the self-pity is missing. Pain and suffering are so universal as to lose their significance. I dunno.
The highest compliment one of my kids ever paid me was the following statement:
"Everyone was sitting around bitching about their family and how bad their lives sucked and I didn't have anything to say. I love my family and I have a damn fine life."
Now please know, this is not a pampered child of privilege - he grew up pretty damn poor. So don't be too hard on those who don't have many tragic, pivotal moments -- perhaps they've just been lucky.
that's partly what I'm getting at Swampy--I don't want to be hard on those who have just been fortunate . . . but how can I help their writing?
SQMojo
Heh, can't answer that one...remember, I was a science teacher :)
My son did write his college entrance essay about an emotional and pivotal moment in his life. He wrote about how the death of my sister affected him. Again, though, it was more positive than angst-ridden.
s4m
Hm, I don't think so. I think "good" writing inspires - whether it's emotion, action or thought, etc. It has to somehow connect with its reader and of course there's a range of things that can achieve this, including pain and suffering, but sometimes something simple too. With that said though, I think we've become immune to "common" experiences and seek out those that push boundaries or ignite something within us - perhaps we respond more to this??
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