Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis Handout

Fourth Genre: Exploration in Nonfiction

1) Editor's Description of the Essays

Fourth Genre is a literary journal published twice a year through Michigan State University Press. Their website states that they aim to “explore the boundaries of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction .” Their list of types of works accepted is extensive, from personal to critical essays as well as literary journalism. The editors also encourage such things as interviews and book reviews. The website mentions several styles that they accept, ending eventually by stating that they  “encourage submissions across the full spectrum of the genre”.

2) Characterization of the Journal's “Niche”

Fourth Genre, although they state that they accept a large variety of works, does seem to hint that they are looking for particular types of pieces, using the words “notable” and “innovative” more than once. I feel that they are looking for the “cutting edge” of nonfiction today, with subjects that are challenging, entertaining, or modern.  The audience, therefore, will probably be of modern taste. As far as purpose, they mention a desire to encourage “writer-to-reader” conversations in their works. So pieces that have a particular message in mind are probably best.

3) Description of the Sample Essays

The sample essays all showed a high level of technical precision and quality. Subject matter was typically dark, edgy, challenging, or sexual in some way. The style of writing was often narrative and/or expository, with an in-your-face style. One or two had a humorous tone but most were serious. Evidence of good CNF techniques like segmenting, inserted IMs or messages, use of italics, and  “punchy” tenses like first-person present-tense. All the pieces communicated atleast one “point,” directly or indirectly. Length tended to be 10-20 pages. 

Submission Information

General Submissions: Accepted August 15-November 30 only. Authors selected for publication paid with two (2) complimentary copies of the journal.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION & SUBMISSION

·         Typed, double-spaced, on one of 8.5” x 11” paper

·         Include cover letter (one page limit): name, address, phone number, email address, title of piece, and approximate word count

·         8,000 word limit for general submissions; 6,000 word limit for Fourth Genre Michael Steinberg Essay Prize (longer submissions will not be read)

·         Do not send disks or electronic files

·         Multiple submissions not accepted from individual authors (non-contest submissions only)

·         Simultaneous submissions require immediate notification to Fourth Genre if accepted elsewhere

REPLIES

·         Replies processed via email: Submission replies – 16 weeks; Query replies – 3 weeks

·         All manuscripts will be recycled (keep a personal copy!)

IMAGES & DERIVATIVE MATERIALS

·         Electronic files accepted; all images must be minimum 300 dpi at planned publication size

·         It is the author/researcher’s obligation and responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright and/or other use restrictions prior to submitting materials to MSU Press for publication

·         Citations, permissions, and captions are required upon submission for all images, including those derived from the internet

·         MSU Press cannot publish such materials until clearance is obtained

SUBMISSION CONTACTS (Submissions are NOT accepted at MSU Press)

ESSAY SUBMISSIONS:

Laura Julier, Editor

235 Bessey Hall

Dept. of Writing, Rhetoric & American Cultures

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI  48824-1033

BOOK REVIEWERS:

Ned Stuckey-French, Book Review Editor

English Department

419 Williams Bldg.

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL  32306-1580

Nstuckey-french@fsu.edu 

GENERAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

Genre4@msu.edu or http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg 

Further Information

Notes on Publishing Agreement

In the publishing agreement the author signs that they agree:

•                     To grant exclusive rights including copyright to the Journal during the term of the copyright

•                     To credit the Journal whenever he/she uses it, which can only be for personal use or if he/she publishes it in a book or personal online collection

•                     To make changes to the piece as the Journal requires, and agree to changes that the Editors may make

•                     That the Journal has the right to publish to piece or sections of the piece in any form and to license reprints, adjustments, and/or translations to the piece or sections of the piece

•                     That this piece is actually original to the author

•                     That the Publisher and Journal may help with costs for subsidiary rights

Michael Steinberg Essay Prize

Fourth Genre will seek the best creative nonfiction essay/memoir for its sixth annual Fourth Genre Michael Steinberg Essay Prize. Authors of previously unpublished manuscripts are encouraged to enter. The winning author receives $1,000 and the winning entry will be published in an upcoming issue of Fourth Genre. Runner-up entry will be considered for publication. Submissions Guidelines: http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg/index.php?Page=prize

Write As Reader Section

Fourth Genre’s “WRITER AS READER” will feature essays that respond to creative and literary nonfiction, focusing primarily on a single work. Successful “WRITER AS READER” essays will be neither jargon-laced nor disinterested, but will find a home in the personal and will tell a story about the author’s relationship with one particular work of nonfiction. “WRITER AS READER” essays are invited as responses to: A personal essay or memoir, Literary journalism, Personal cultural criticism, Another work commonly classified with creative nonfiction. More information: http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg/index.php?Page=subguide

Example pieces:
About a Transvestite/Transgender   (and its not all about him feeling marginalized by the way)
http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg/pdf/9_FG_11-2_Peters_97-112.pdf

The only homey/nice toned one I read
http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg/pdf/12_FG_10-1_Ostarello_119-130.pdf

The Prison piece
http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg/pdf/6_FG_13-1_Langston_55-62.pdf

Read this one and you'll know what I mean about "dark-toned"
http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg/pdf/1_FG_9-2_Church_1-10.pdf

About Brazilian waxing
http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg/pdf/12_13.2Ferriss.pdf

About breasts and nursing
http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg/pdf/1_FG_9-1_Rogers_1-6.pdf

brainstorming for Craft Essay

Here is some of my  brainstorming for the Craft Essay. I still need to add specific examples and hit a couple other points.

I have gotten many opportunities to write a variety of things since I started college. At first, it was a lot of research papers, which was just about taking information, processing it, and putting it back out. More recently, however, I have been given the opportunity to write creatively, which I really appreciate. I've been able to write poetry, fiction stories, reflective essays, and creative nonfiction. I like many subjects, but as I expand I've found particular areas to appeal to me more than others. 

 

Creative Nonfiction was difficult for me. I found the drive to “have a point” very difficult to meet, especially when reflecting on personal experiences. Although life sometimes has a point, it's not usually obvious.

Still, I enjoyed talking about personal experiences. I have many stories, and appreciate the chance to write some of them down. It was harder than I thought, primarily because of the delicate process of choosing which details to include. In a private journal or discussion with a friend, every detail could be included. However, as this is literary, it requires the writer to be more precise. Details are tools to move the story forward, to communicate something deeper, to round out characters and ideas. There's a lot of precision and thought needed.

As I progress as a writer, and certainly when I move into works that I hope to publish, I will need to consider my audience carefully. For the purposes of this class, I considered my audience to be a collection of fellow students, of all different backrounds but of relatively similar age. I could assume that they would be interested in travel stories, not necessarily as a genre, but as coming from a classmate their age. I also could assume a relatively low level of knowledge about the cultures I have encountered, (not because of ignorance, but just because of age & life experience). Overall, I felt that most people will appreciate my writing if it is understandable, approachable, and interesting. So, during the course, I aimed to accomplish these things specifically.

The ethics of my own writing were tested as I wrote about my experiences in Mexico. Again, I kept finding it necessary to indulge in lengthy discussions of side-topics just to make sure my reader could understand the context of my point. I found it would be easier in some cases to bend the truth, or to just eliminate it, rather than pull it in.I felt it that, if my goal was to communicate my idea clearly with little distraction but still enjoyment from the interest of it, that some details were necessary to sacrifice.

I really tried to expand as a writer in this class. To me, it was the opportunity to write in a very new genre for me. The stories appealed to me, but I had never tried writing them before. One way that I stretched myself was in my writing process. I tried to use new methods for each piece, once I used “speed drafting” and another time I tried writing whatever came to mind. It was fun to try these things and see the different results.

blog 20 Revised Essay 3/4

Blending the Past and the Future

The modern developments in architecture that China is known for are not evident in the Hong Kong Museum of Art. It is a simple building of gray concrete, crowded in by the busy downtown district of Tsim Sha Tsui.  Despite this, the museum is well valued by Hong Kong’s citizens, for their past is tucked away in the quiet hallways.

On the first floor of the museum, historical artifacts are preserved. There are delicate bone combs and ornate hair pieces, carved from precious things like jade and ivory. Men and women hundreds of years ago wore these to display their wealth. Some battle regalia are also kept there, with antique swords and scabbards laid out beside. A security guard stands nearby, keeping the overly-curious from getting too close. High-tech sensors keep the items beneath the thick glass casing safe from peoples’ intrusive touch.

Visitors are also not allowed to take photographs, regardless of the flash. Perhaps the proctors are concerned about the images of the pieces being stolen. Or perhaps the rule comes from a sense of respect for this ancient world, so treasured by its people. These items aren’t simply paintings and sculptures, decorative bowls and tea sets. They are the history of the Chinese people, contained in physical form. Chinese value their history deeply. It is a measure of a man’s honor as well as intelligence to be able to discuss his history. If you don’t know your country’s past, how can you say you know your country today? How can you love your country if you do not know her?

            In the floors above, this treasured history is preserved through paintings. Laid out gently beneath thick glass, some sheets of parchment are several feet high and wide. The sound of the brush’s stroke fills the quiet gallery, delicate, yet forceful. Scrolls with ornate calligraphy fill other cases, some as much as 20 feet long. Calligraphy was, and still is, a prized skill in China. 

Through the images, glimmers of a simpler lifestyle show through. One can sense how the artist spent much time gazing at the world around him, desiring to transmit that beauty to permanence. Each exhibit includes a description of the artist. It is important to note his honorable background and training from a prestigious master, to add value to his work. A person does not exist independent of his own history, but is created, layer by layer, like a painting.

            On the top floor, the reminiscing ends abruptly with a collection of modern and contemporary art. This section is titled Hong Kong Art to distinguish from the Chinese historical and fine art. It is clear from the variety of expressions that today’s Hong Kong artists draw their inspiration from many places. Some pieces are simply colorful remakes of the pieces below while others reflect the European influences the island has felt in recent times.  Still others bring a unique approach that is more reflective of modern art as a genre. Although differences exist, there is something about the delicacy with which these pieces appear created which hints at the nationality of their artist.

            One piece in particular shows this contrast well. It is a colorful oil painting of a “junk,” a traditional type of boat used often on the harbor waters hundreds of years ago. The ship sails ahead of a block of horizontal bars, as if trying to keep ahead of time itself. Above, vertical bars press a ceiling down on the scene below. These bars imitate the advanced high rise buildings of today’s Hong Kong, which surround the museum itself. The colors throughout the painting are bright, textured, and flecked. The ship seems to move forward, yet is contained within the swirling designs. This reflects the culture of Hong Kong today, which is modernizing and changing, yet is restrained by the strong ties to its history.

The gift shop is filled with plenty of interesting things. Of course all of these items are very expensive, like the prices in the rest of Hong Kong. The nearby mega-malls sell only the most elite brands, costing in the hundreds and thousands of US dollars. Those who can afford to must show off their wealth by displaying it. In ancient days, golden hair combs and jewel-encrusted tea sets made clear who was of a higher class. Today, fine clothing and sophisticated cars are used for this purpose.

The entire western front of the museum faces the harbor through a glass window.  The wide waterway runs directly through the urban region of Hong Kong and has enabled easy access throughout its history. Thus, the city developed into a powerful trade center in the eastern hemisphere. Outside the museum, boats designed like traditional “junks” carry tourists to and fro. Across the water, epic buildings line the banks on ground reclaimed from the waters. They feature cutting edge architecture. Each dazzles in urban beauty, displaying the wealth and high class of the people of Hong Kong.

One the museum’s side, the Avenue of Stars skirts the waterway. Based on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the promenade honors celebrities who have gone forward to make the Chinese people proud and honored among the rest of the world. Their names are carved into concrete blocks of the walkway with their handprints pressed in gently beside as if to say “this is my home, China.” Some names are unrecognizable to the younger generation of Hong Kong; others are very familiar, especially to tourists, such as Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee.

On Saturday nights the museum itself becomes a piece of art from the outside. A light show decorates the entire harbor, each of the buildings on the opposite shore coordinating its patterns with flashes in time to music. The museum responds to its sisters across the water by projecting colors along its own flank and even into the night sky. The people rejoice in the beauty, their hearts filling the harbor itself.  The show goes on and on, delighting its viewers while they gaze around this famous location, trying to remember that this same place saw battles and bloodshed and famous dignitaries sail in on colored ships. It is a place filled with contrasts, striving to portray the values of the society that Hong Kong was built on, as well as the society it is becoming today. The museum holds this balance with a sense of delicacy, gently blending the past and future as they blend in the world outside her.