Thursday, February 09, 2006
Responsibility, representation and witness
On Tuesday (2/14), we'll have a discussion about what responsibilities a writer has in the representation of a particularly difficult or tragic event. How must she represent the primary witness's account? How can she add her own ideas without disrespecting the event or the people affected by the event? Should she even worry about these concerns, or are tragic events like 9/11 unrestricted fodder for public discussion?
In preparation for this discussion, I would like you to come prepared to talk about one particular representation of a tragic event. It could be a song, a movie, a book, an article, whatever, as long as it represents something that's difficult to represent. It doesn't have to be a global event like 9/11; it could be a private event like alcoholism, child abuse, or something else that demands to be handled delicately. You can bring notes about this representation of the event in order to talk about it. I'll come prepared to talk about the novel we'll be starting next week, which deals with these difficult issues of representation, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Buy it now if you haven't already!
In preparation for this discussion, I would like you to come prepared to talk about one particular representation of a tragic event. It could be a song, a movie, a book, an article, whatever, as long as it represents something that's difficult to represent. It doesn't have to be a global event like 9/11; it could be a private event like alcoholism, child abuse, or something else that demands to be handled delicately. You can bring notes about this representation of the event in order to talk about it. I'll come prepared to talk about the novel we'll be starting next week, which deals with these difficult issues of representation, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Buy it now if you haven't already!
// posted by advee @ 11:51 AM 
