I have to admit that about the time Dr. Venkman, er...Dr. Tucker took us over to his Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPs), where some of their top ten hits, such as "Mystical Experiences in Epilepsy" and "Investigation of Mediums Who Claim to Give Information about Deceased People" (I would think someone by now should have gotten a little insight into where Huey Long left the "deduct" box the day he was murdered), were being shown off, I was humming....."Well there's something strange, in the neighborhood, who you gonna call?" I was waiting for someone like Uri Geller to pop in to the story and to actually demonstrate the bent spoons - I've always wanted to see that trick up live and personal - but no such luck. Instead, we have this Harvard/Iowa Writer's Workshop-trained essayist taking on this "former life" story for Harper's. (Now, I'm imagining William Hurt and Andie McDowell, writing for the National Mirror, heading off to rural Iowa to see the archangel Michael, presumably skipping the Iowa Writer's workshop, where Hurt's character - on his way down, down, down, and also the skeptic's skeptic - presumably could have picked up some tips). But no matter, Leslie Jamison takes us on a tour of the fantastic - the bona fide possibility of reincarnation - even as she keeps an objective eye on what might be truth and what might be extremely creative con-viction. I give it up for Giving Up the Ghost, which could have been either too coldly logical or too much the puff piece. For me, Jamison conjurs up a good story. I like the way she brings us into her mind. She doesn't really start until 2/3's of the way through p. 66, with "My own sense of Tucker is....", which leads into her first non-para normal excursion with Tucker to meet Carol of the rotary phone. Phrases like "Tucker's skepticism makes him more credible to me..." also make her narrative more credible to me, and also Tucker more credible to me, as I can see some of her doubts and her validations.
As our own Professor assuredly planned, if I can read his mind on this matter, Picturing the Perfect Essay is quite complementary to our life after death essay. This one didn't start with a two-year old channeling (or reliving) a WWII pilot, but with a squiggly drawing a two-year old might have created (presumably channeling, or reliving,Picasso) the figure I might well have drawn myself during an evening w/a bit too much of the bubbly. Being a visual person - I actually like white boards and flip chart pads - who likes pictures, this article resonated with me. He took what could have been a quite technical article and embroidered it with rising and falling (mountain-like) arrows, right and wrong stair steps, whorls for goodness sake - fun to try to pronounce, things that look like barbed wire - and more!
I can only take a quick crack, to get the conversation going, as to which of these "shapes" Jamison is closest to in "Ghost". The "dipping into the well" metaphor, perhaps, makes some sense to me. Her story goes along and then she reflects, then goes further, and then she'll reflect some more. Honestly, this reflexivity is what I enjoyed most about the essay because listening to this successful writer actually speculate on matters that many of us might dismiss offhand got me to thinking too. What shape do you think Jamison was closest to in her essay? Not to leave anyone out, what shape was Bascom's?
"Coming Full Circle",one of Bascom's "shapes", was appropriate, I thought, as Jamison brings us back in her essay just so, to where she started, talking about a child "crying out". Kind of spooky, this former life stuff, isn't it? But it could be true. As I revise this at 4:30 in the morning, in the dark, I can only think of one thing....
...I ain't afraid of no ghost....
I don’t consider Jamison’s essay really about the “fantastic,” or about paranormal mysteries at all. I feel that Jamison uses the stories of little James and Dr. Tucker as scaffolding for deeper themes such as the need we have as humans to make sense of that which we don’t understand, to pack our mysteries into tangible stories that we can touch, control, and deal with. Stories give us license; stories, we can “perform,” we can act out instead of being acted upon. Stories give us something we can point to and say, “Here, this is me. This is my story. Read this, and you will know who I am.”
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy this style of essay. This is the style of essay I would most like to craft. As far as naming it, I would consider it a kind of personal journalism where the reporter/narrator is an active participant in the story, but the story isn’t about them.
I also really enjoyed Bascom’s essay and his visual depictions of the styles of essay. Just like the use of stories I talked about earlier, Bascom’s essay sketches gave me a new way to hold, picture, and make meaning of what different essays are, and how they work, a kind of blueprint if you will. The ability to see essay styles portrayed in this different way crystallizes them, and helps me make greater sense of what they are and how they work.
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DeleteCheryl, I agree I think what Jaimson is attempting to communicate is contained in that last paragraph, "families seeking meaning in their experience" and "we should consider the ways we listen might change the story we're hearing". I think that last bit is most illustrative of the essay. Jaimson shows us different people listening to the same narrative in different ways. Families, Scientists, researchers, skeptics, media, parents--each of these people hear the same story, but because of who they are, how they identify themselves, and where they come from change the out come of those stories. Its not fantastic its reality and it speaks to the complicated relationship we all have with narrative. We all bring out baggage to the table and that baggage really influence the way we read and what we get from what we read. That's why acknowledging that writing is part of a transaction that includes the writer-the text-and the reader can inform how we write and influence the rhetorical choices we make as we construct the words on the paper. Jamison's piece just illustrates this using a story about reincarnation and the afterlife.
ReplyDeleteThose last few paragraphs definitely drive home the main purpose of the essay, but I couldn't help but wonder if the whole couldn't have been trimmed down a bit in order to more easily get to that main purpose.
DeleteI found the article on essay shapes pretty interesting and gave me some ideas to try and/or revise my current essays. The visuals helped a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe Jamison essay was very interesting. It seemed closer to transactional journalism than her previous essay. She was in the essay, but it did not focus on her life and experiences, so much as others. It reminded me of New Yorker essays, with perhaps a bit more speculation/philosophy thrown in. She does seem to have the underlying themes about story production and families and the way phenomena like "reincarnation" play out in the lives of ordinary people. She does come back to the boy at the end, revisiting the story in more detail, but leaving the footnote to contain the most pertinent bit of skepticism--perhaps demanded by her editor?