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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Contains a selection of short stories written after the death of the author's teenage son, Charlie. They explore the meaning and importance of home and grieving.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Living in Stories : Creative Nonfiction as an Effective Genre for Writing About Death and Bereavement
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , October vol. 13 no. 2 2009; 'Through the telling of stories and interaction with listener or audience, we give structure to our experience and create order and meaning. Written narrative is, therefore, a medium well suited to exploring the experience of death and bereavement. 'We live in stories, not statistics,' Gilbert says (2002: 223). Parents' stories of their children's deaths serve the same purpose as parents' stories of their living children's ongoing lives. Writing about the death of one's child is a way not only to continue bonds and help other bereaved parents, but also a way to allow the 'wounded storyteller' to give voice to the dead and facilitate catharsis in the teller. Utilising the techniques of creative nonfiction to write such a story, the writer can create a compelling narrative that allows writer and reader to enter 'the space of the story for the other'. This paper discusses the human affinity with story telling and the reasons the bereaved write their stories. It also defines the genre of creative nonfiction and outlines the history of its development. Finally it examines four creative nonfiction texts that have influenced my own writing on the topic of parental bereavement.' -
A Good Plain Home
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , November vol. 4 no. 2 2003;
— Review of Mother Lode : Stories of Home Life and Home Death 2001 selected work short story -
Untitled
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;
— Review of Mother Lode : Stories of Home Life and Home Death 2001 selected work short story -
Passion and Honesty
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;
— Review of Mother Lode : Stories of Home Life and Home Death 2001 selected work short story -
Untitled
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: JAS Review of Books , no. 2 2001; Journal of Australian Studies , no. 69 2001; (p. 170-172)
— Review of Mother Lode : Stories of Home Life and Home Death 2001 selected work short story
-
Passion and Honesty
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;
— Review of Mother Lode : Stories of Home Life and Home Death 2001 selected work short story -
Untitled
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;
— Review of Mother Lode : Stories of Home Life and Home Death 2001 selected work short story -
A Good Plain Home
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , November vol. 4 no. 2 2003;
— Review of Mother Lode : Stories of Home Life and Home Death 2001 selected work short story -
Untitled
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: JAS Review of Books , no. 2 2001; Journal of Australian Studies , no. 69 2001; (p. 170-172)
— Review of Mother Lode : Stories of Home Life and Home Death 2001 selected work short story -
Living in Stories : Creative Nonfiction as an Effective Genre for Writing About Death and Bereavement
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , October vol. 13 no. 2 2009; 'Through the telling of stories and interaction with listener or audience, we give structure to our experience and create order and meaning. Written narrative is, therefore, a medium well suited to exploring the experience of death and bereavement. 'We live in stories, not statistics,' Gilbert says (2002: 223). Parents' stories of their children's deaths serve the same purpose as parents' stories of their living children's ongoing lives. Writing about the death of one's child is a way not only to continue bonds and help other bereaved parents, but also a way to allow the 'wounded storyteller' to give voice to the dead and facilitate catharsis in the teller. Utilising the techniques of creative nonfiction to write such a story, the writer can create a compelling narrative that allows writer and reader to enter 'the space of the story for the other'. This paper discusses the human affinity with story telling and the reasons the bereaved write their stories. It also defines the genre of creative nonfiction and outlines the history of its development. Finally it examines four creative nonfiction texts that have influenced my own writing on the topic of parental bereavement.'
Awards
- 2002 shortlisted Kibble Literary Awards — Nita May Dobbie Award
Last amended 23 Jun 2010 09:55:43