I'm preparing a syllabus for a new creative writing course that I'll be teaching in the fall (more on that later; stay tuned). One aspect of that project is a reading list of essential works of creative non-fiction. These are works, both historical and contemporary, that represent the core qualities of creative non-fiction writing. Here are ten of my picks:
- Brodkey, Harold. This Wild Darkness: The Story of My Death.
- Butala, Sharon. Wild Stone Heart.
- Calvo, Cesar. The Three Halves of Ino Moxo. Translated by Kenneth Symington.
(Those fluent in Spanish may prefer to read Las tres mitades de Ino Moxo.
Iquitos, Peru. Proceso Editores, 1981.) - Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts.
- Lopate, Phillip. The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present.
- Merwin, W.S. The Mays of Ventadorn.
- Ondaatje, Michael. Running in the Family.
- Saint-Exupery, Antoine de. Wind, Sand and Stars. Translated by Lewis Galantiere.
(Those fluent in French may prefer to read Terre Des Hommes.
Cambridge, MA. Schoenhof Foreign Books, 1999.) - Sanders, Scott Russell. Writing from the Center.
- Terpstra, John. The Boys: Or, Waiting for the Electrician's Daughter.
