Creative Journalism

What must a journalist do to move beyond the bare bones of the news? How does the journalist, trained to gather facts and evidence, achieve a personal style that is both honest and imaginative? The class explores how creative journalists combine the techniques of the novelist with those of the journalist. In addition to writing exercises and stories, students will examine the works of such creative journalists as Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Norman Mailer, Joseph Mitchell, V. S. Naipaul, Gay Talese, John A. Williams, and Tom Wolfe.