Reflect and Resurrect Your Writing (Dorothy Intro)

Reflect and Resurrect Your Writing | The Weekly Atticus

May 09, 2020

A recap of the week's writing at Atticus Review. Poetry Contest Winners! Introduction by Dorothy Bendel.

Once again, a discussion recently reemerged on social media in which the personal essay was, essentially, declared dead. Again. RIP. Perhaps the personal essay is enjoying some time off in a cemetery where the novel, short stories, and all of poetry reside, as they have also been declared dead many times before. Somehow, they die and then resurrect themselves, over and over.

What I find most fascinating about these arguments is that they tend to come from a place in which the literary form in question is considered within a narrow lens. A certain style or a certain type of author are often the foundation from which a particular stance emerges, to say: I like (or have only read) X and therefore, because what I've recently read doesn't fit into the box I deem worthy, the is dead!

It's unfortunate, really, to dismiss such a large branch of writing because a reader has a rigid sense of what literature is—or what it can be. Literature is a living thing, and it will grow and twist into different shapes at will. The personal essay is no different. Lyric essays, braided essays, visual essays, audio essays, hermit crabs—these might be classified as personal essays too, and I appreciate writers who challenge me to expand my idea of what essaying can be. Take, for example, this Waze-guided

by K.B. Carle, medical advice as the architecture of this

by Randon Billings Noble, an illustrated

by Natalie Lima, and this photo

by Megan Pillow.

Likewise, the voices we're hearing now in the world of essays have moved from the old guard to include a range of diverse voices—voices who are worthy of our attention. This is one of the many reasons that independent lit mags are important: If you want to read boundary-pushing work by diverse authors, some of the most electrifying work you can read right now can be found in lit mags.

This isn't to say that there aren't missteps to be found in any type of writing. There will always be those stories, poems, and essays that seem to miss the mark, or ones that simply don't speak to us. And that's okay. But we can use those moments to reflect on what didn't work, why it didn't work, or why we had a specific reaction to a piece of writing. These inquiries help us reflect on, and deepen, our own writing. We become better writers, and readers, through meaningful engagement.

But fear not—our dearly departed personal essay is not long lost from this world, and I'm not pouring one out for it just yet. Instead, I'm toasting the writers who are transforming the personal essay into something more exciting, and alive.

Thanks for reading. We’re glad you’re here.

Dorothy Bendel

Managing Editor

ATTICUS NEWS

POETRY CONTEST WINNERS:Congratulations to Genevieve DeGuzman (1st Prize!), Allison Albino (2nd), Jeffrey Letterly (3rd), and Peggy Robles-Alvarado (Honorable Mention). Thank you to Roberto Carlos Garcia for being a super judge.READ ABOUT OUR WINNERS!

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS REVIEW

BOOK REVIEWWHEN WRITING ITSELF BECOMES THE DILEMMAA Review of SAVAGE GODS by Paul Kingsnorth from Two Dollar RadioReview by Josh Allan"...a throwback to the romantic cultures of a pre-modern world, and a lesson in what happens when those old gods are exhumed in an age when Nature becomes slave to Man...""...a reluctant, tortured book in its struggle against itself."GET THE BOOKREAD THE REVIEW

FICTIONAFTERSHOCKSby Kristen Havens"He was going alone. Not because he needed to, or wanted to, but because no one expected him to."READ ON

POETRYPOEM BEGINNING WITH CHICKEN AND RIBS THEN ENDING IN BUDDHIST PRAYERby Britton Shurley"Though I’ve never tried the food, I think, // every time it passes, how each day’s / a step to the grave and all we know / is burning. // Oh Buddha off wood-smoke..."READ ON

CREATIVE NONFICTIONGETTING LOST COASTby Max Talley"When the Lost Coast is fog-shrouded and cold-damp—as it often is—the voices grow louder, tape reels unspooling in the brain. Yes, the fucking ghosts are here..."READ ON

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