Creative nonfiction is the literary equivalent of jazz: it’s a rich mix of flavors, ideas, voices, and techniques—some newly invented, and others as old as writing itself. This collection of 20 gripping, beautifully-written nonfiction narratives is as diverse as the genre Creative Nonfiction magazine has helped popularize. Contributions by Phillip Lopate, Brenda Miller, Carolyn Forche, Toi Derricotte, Lauren Slater and others draw inspiration from everything from healthcare to history, and from monarch butterflies to motherhood. Their stories shed light on how we live.

When Hearing the Story Isn't Enough The student-run Eyewitness News in downtown Portland has a lot of balls in the air: a series on homelessness, a new look at why downtown is so empty, an investigation into the man who tried to kill some of the staff, and a whole host of other stories. Plenty to keep them all busy, the news editor thought. And now what? A war in Ukraine? How was she supposed to cover that? Still reeling from the recent events, the staff gears up to try to do the story justice. But J.J. Jones wants to do more than provide a Portland angle — more than give context from the scholars who study the region, or the students who have lived there. He wants to go see for himself. Just like previous generations of war correspondents. And he thinks he's found a way.... This is the 18th book in Newsroom PDX — book 3 of year 3. Join the staff as they struggle to provide the news people need in downtown Portland while dealing with the issues of their personal lives. Foul language, some sex, lots of politics. It's Portland, after all. {And Cage and Emily are getting married! And you all are invited. If Ryan can manage to find a judge, a dress for Emily, and a mother of the bride? We're good.)

So, you’ve got a story to sell . . . “A great resource” for business or social occasions from an Emmy winner and storytelling coach (Samantha Harris, cohost of Dancing with the Stars and author of Your Healthiest Healthy). 2021 International Book Awards finalist in Self-Help: Motivational #1 New Release in Speech and Public Speaking Learn the art of telling stories and make the sale, land the client, propose a toast, or impress a date. Corey Rosen is an Emmy Award–winning writer and actor with years of experience as a skilled storytelling coach, and his book is jam-packed with some of the best storytelling strategies out there. We’ve all got stories to tell-but how do you make your story the best? Here, the Moth Radio Hour veteran and master teacher conveys the best techniques from improvisational theater to design an accessible guide for all ages and skill levels. Crafted to help ordinary people tell extraordinary stories, this laugh-out-loud handbook covers everything from how to tell a good story to going off script. Learn how to sell yourself through the art of telling stories. The best storytelling uses improvisation to enthrall, entertain, and keep audiences on edge. Laugh along with tales of performance triumphs (and disasters) and explore ways to develop confidence and spontaneity. From brainstorming and development to performance and memorization techniques, learn how to tell a good story with: A variety of structures and editing approaches to bring out your best story Improv exercises to stimulate creativity without feeling foolish Quick and easy lessons on building stories Resources for putting on a showcase to tell your story “Let Corey Rosen teach you how good-humored authentic story sharing, in any social and cultural context, beats those nasty public lying contests every time.” —Nancy Mellon, author of Storytelling and the Art of Imagination “I know I will return to it again and again for ideas, inspiration, and entertainment.” —Samantha Harris

From Patricia Leavy, a leader in arts-based research, this is the first comprehensive guide to what social fiction is and how to write it. In an engaging, personal tone, Leavy explores the unique contribution that creative writing--such as novels, series, and short stories--can make to addressing qualitative research questions. In-depth discussions of narrative models (such as the three-act structure) and elements (such as plot, metaphor, dialogue) are accompanied by excerpts from Leavy's published fiction, reflections on the writing process, and technical suggestions. The book offers evaluation criteria for social fiction as well as practical publishing advice. Instructive features include "tip bubbles" with additional writing hints, end-of-chapter "Skill-Building" and "Rethink Your Research" exercises, and an appendix with suggested readings.

"This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to arts-based research (ABR) practices, which scholars in multiple disciplines are fruitfully using to reveal information and represent experiences that traditional methods cannot capture. Each of the six major ABR genres/m-/narrative inquiry, poetry, music, performance, dance, and visual art/m-/is covered in chapters that introduce key concepts and tools and present an exemplary research article by a leading ABR practitioner. Patricia Leavy discusses the kinds of research questions these innovative approaches can address and offers practical guidance for applying them in all phases of a research project, from design and data collection to analysis, interpretation, representation, and evaluation. Chapters include checklists to guide methodological decision making, discussion questions, and recommended print and online resources"--

Ideal for courses in multiple disciplines, the third edition of this award-winning text has been revised and updated with new topics, examples, and guiding questions to introduce each chapter’s sections. Patricia Leavy presents a practical guide to the full range of arts-based research (ABR) genres--narrative inquiry, fiction-based research, poetry, music, dance, theatre, film, and visual art. Each genre-specific chapter is paired with an exemplary research article or online video link (at the companion website). Following a consistent format, chapters review how the technique was developed, explore its methodological variations and the kind of research questions it can address, and describe diverse sample studies. Checklists and practical advice help readers harness the power of these innovative techniques for their own studies or dissertations. New to This Edition *Covers additional ABR practices: concrete research poetry, musically enhanced narrative inquiry, community music projects, musical spoken word, scored transcripts, comics/graphic novels, wordless narrative research, and installation art. *Discussions of research design, collaborative ABR, and ways to overcome common ABR challenges, plus tips for getting started. *Numerous new research examples, including three new end-of-chapter exemplars. *Increased attention to the impact of research, with a heightened focus on ethics, public scholarship, and issues of audience. Pedagogical Features *Checklists of issues to consider when deciding how to use a particular method. *Discussion questions and activities for in-class use or assignment. *Annotated lists of suggested readings and websites, including links to online performance pieces. *Compelling research examples from multiple disciplines. *Chapters follow a consistent format and can be read independently or in sequence; new guiding questions introduce sections within chapters. Winner—2021 USA Best Book Awards, Art category

What we moderns have forgotten, the ancients knew well: true beauty heals the soul, draws us to God, and yields lasting happiness. Rich with the wisdom of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, and St. John Paul II, these pages unpack perennial truths about beauty and rivet them into your soul, opening the eyes of your understanding to the beauty all around us. Offering an abundance of accessible examples, author John Mark Miravalle demonstrates that beauty is neither in the eye of the beholder, nor for the cultivated, the dreamer, or the “hopeless romantic” alone. On the contrary, the ability to understand, recognize, and delight in beauty readies all souls for heaven — and makes it easier for us to get there. From these pages, you'll learn: Why beauty is not just a matter of opinion. The virtues we need to perceive beauty and to enjoy it. How to determine whether an artwork is truly beautiful. The respective roles of reason and emotion in appreciating beauty. How the beauty of nature testifies to God's existence . . . while rejection of God obscures nature's beauty. With the help of these pages, you'll receive fresh eyes to marvel again (or for the first time) at the beauty of nature, music, art, architecture, and, most importantly, the beauty of God, the fountainhead and exemplar of all things on earth that are beautiful.

Developing narrative nonfiction writers at any stage of their career Write Choices: Elements of Nonfiction Storytelling helps writers cultivate their nonfiction storytelling skills by exploring the universal decisions writers confront when crafting factual narratives. Rather than isolating various forms of narrative nonfiction into categories or genres, Sue Hertz focuses on examining the common choices all true storytellers encounter, whether they are writing memoir, literary journalism, personal essays, or travel stories. Write Choices also includes digital storytelling. No longer confined to paper, today′s narrative nonfiction writers must learn to write for electronic media, which may also demand photos, videos, and/or audio. Integrating not only her own insights and experience as a journalist, nonfiction book author, and writing instructor, but also those of other established nonfiction storytellers, both print and digital, Hertz aims to guide emerging writers through key decisions to tell the best story possible. Blending how-to instruction with illuminating examples and commentaries drawn from original interviews with master storytellers, Write Choices is a valuable resource for all nonfiction writers, from memoirists to essayists to literary journalists, at any stage of their career.