Introduction to Literary Journalism
Literary journalism is a genre of nonfiction writing that combines hard facts and credible research with a narrative voice that expresses emotion and opinion. Pioneers of this field include Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, John McPhee, and Gay Talese. Today, you can find literary journalism in popular periodicals such as Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker and Esquire, as well as in many major newspapers and online magazines. In this course we will examine the antecedents of literary journalism and discuss selected examples of this genre (“New Journalism”) in order to understand the research techniques and aspects of craft that make them well written and resonant. This course counts as an introductory creative writing elective for the ENAM major.