There are two stories from the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, that to me remain better than all the others. R.W. Apple wrote a news analysis that ran on the front of the New York Times on Sept. 12. Hank Stuever wrote an essay that ran on the front of the Style section of the [...]
Tag Archives: Joan Didion
Death, truth and memoir: the debate over Joyce Carol Oates’ “A Widow’s Story”
February 17, 2011 – 10:36 am
What is it that we really want from memoir? The kerfuffle this week over “A Widow’s Story,” a narrative from Joyce Carol Oates about the loss of her husband and their many years together brings this question front and center again.
Oates was married to Raymond J. Smith for nearly five decades; in addition to their [...]
Hank Stuever on story structure, really reporting Christmas and the problem with the “sacred space” approach to narrative
August 20, 2010 – 2:23 pm
Washington Post reporter Hank Stuever writes in a variety of narrative forms, from books to punchy television reviews and features. His latest book, “Tinsel: A Search for America’s Christmas Present,” is based on time he spent in Frisco, Texas, beginning in 2006. Making good on the title’s evocations of both sweetness and Scrooge, Stuever explores [...]
