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From: Elizabeth Partridge <ep>
Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2003 21:32:38 -0800
Jonathan is referring to an email Ginny posted before the holidays. She wrote that iTHIS LAND ".offers an incredibly valuable perspective on Woody Guthrie, yet there are undocumented references to what Woody might have been thinking or feeling."
Thanks to both Ginny and Jonathan for your thoughtful comments on THIS LAND.
My husband calls me an "emotional biologist," as I am always ferreting out emotional content. One of the reasons I tackled a biography on Woody is that he was a prolific writer, and left behind hundreds of letters, dozens of newspaper columns, a shelf full of journals, two autobiographies and several thousand songs. He had plenty of strong, impassioned feelings about life, politics, music, marriage, fatherhood -- you name it. And everything he thought and felt went down on paper. And if I couldn't find Woody's words, many of his friends have written down or were interviewed about experiences they had with him.
Once I had the information, how to document it? My editor, Jill Davis, and I worked hard on this. I chose to acknowledge my general sources at the beginning of my source notes, and then footnote in each chapter any direct quotations. Not only does this footnote the quotes, but it guides the reader to which sources I used for each chapter. By the time I finished, I had more than a hundred footnotes and had named all my sources. I decided not to include any further footnoting, as I didn't want the book to read like an academic text.
Documenting references brings up fascinating, interlinking issues. There is a whole shift towards "narrative non-fiction" which is emotionally compelling and engaging, without sacrificing veracity. We're also demanding more accuracy in children's books, which I welcome. Biographers, particularly in children's literature, have made up or inappropriately ascribed feelings, thoughts, even dialog, to their subjects. It's up to all of us -- authors, editors, librarians and teachers -- to set new, clear standards for documentation that give all the pertinent information without overwhelming our readers.
Elizabeth Partridge www.elizabethpartridge.com
Received on Wed 01 Jan 2003 11:32:38 PM CST
Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2003 21:32:38 -0800
Jonathan is referring to an email Ginny posted before the holidays. She wrote that iTHIS LAND ".offers an incredibly valuable perspective on Woody Guthrie, yet there are undocumented references to what Woody might have been thinking or feeling."
Thanks to both Ginny and Jonathan for your thoughtful comments on THIS LAND.
My husband calls me an "emotional biologist," as I am always ferreting out emotional content. One of the reasons I tackled a biography on Woody is that he was a prolific writer, and left behind hundreds of letters, dozens of newspaper columns, a shelf full of journals, two autobiographies and several thousand songs. He had plenty of strong, impassioned feelings about life, politics, music, marriage, fatherhood -- you name it. And everything he thought and felt went down on paper. And if I couldn't find Woody's words, many of his friends have written down or were interviewed about experiences they had with him.
Once I had the information, how to document it? My editor, Jill Davis, and I worked hard on this. I chose to acknowledge my general sources at the beginning of my source notes, and then footnote in each chapter any direct quotations. Not only does this footnote the quotes, but it guides the reader to which sources I used for each chapter. By the time I finished, I had more than a hundred footnotes and had named all my sources. I decided not to include any further footnoting, as I didn't want the book to read like an academic text.
Documenting references brings up fascinating, interlinking issues. There is a whole shift towards "narrative non-fiction" which is emotionally compelling and engaging, without sacrificing veracity. We're also demanding more accuracy in children's books, which I welcome. Biographers, particularly in children's literature, have made up or inappropriately ascribed feelings, thoughts, even dialog, to their subjects. It's up to all of us -- authors, editors, librarians and teachers -- to set new, clear standards for documentation that give all the pertinent information without overwhelming our readers.
Elizabeth Partridge www.elizabethpartridge.com
Received on Wed 01 Jan 2003 11:32:38 PM CST
