I Was Told There’d Be Cake

This is a collection of short stories that I picked up because the title really caught my eye. It was so witty, and I feel like I instantly connected to the author right away because of it. How often do we become more inclined to go somewhere or do something if there is food involved? I knew the book was going to be a memoir because that was the section I was in, and I wanted to pick up the book because I got an impression of the author’s tone right ff the bat. I was expecting stories that were witty, refreshing, and most likely really down to earth.

Does Politics Need Gender Quotas – For Men? (Subtitle: How limiting male representation, rather than creating a floor for female participation, might shake up government)

I saw this article on The Atlantic and immediately wanted to click it because of the two buzzwords mentioned: gender and politics. The title starts of slightly provocative, but takes a twist after the hyphen. The hyphen seems extremely intentional because the author knows the reader was not expecting it to be about men, and in particular, about limiting their power. Most discussions around gender and politics focus on creating a floor for female participation as the subtitle points out, so the author was going for the shock factor by focusing on men. The pause readers take upon reading the hyphen creates an almost controversial tone to the title that I think works really well as far as “clickability” goes.

Montevallo

Montevallo is the title of Sam Hunt’s new album, and I thought it was interesting because it seemed random. It sounded cool based on the assonance and the slightly exotic sound to it, but I didn’t really understand it’s relevance to the songs or to the artist. After a quick Google search though, I found out it was the name of the town he lived in while attending college at the University of Alabama, which brings new meaning to the songs on the album. Presumably, most of the songs took place in the town based on his experiences there. I think the implicit vs explicit details revealed through the title was interesting, and grounded the songs on the album in a specific place. However, the listener would only know that if they were familiar with Alabama geography

Susan Orlean immediately grabs reader attention with bold statements that have an intentional comic undercut. She opens the piece with a very deliberate play on words that at first shocks readers until they understand that she’s using “bitch” in the traditional sense of the word – to describe a female dog. She goes on to describe Biff, a “boorish” canine that would have captured her heart had she been a dog. The key thing to note here, however, is that she never explicitly states that Biff is a dog. She anthropomorphizes him and describe his actions in such intense detail that readers can almost forget she is describing a dog and not an actual human being. Once she is done describing his personality, she states that he is, in fact, a boxer.

Her sensationalist writing style makes it clear that every show dog has its own character and quirks, and that they are treated in such a sensational way that it is almost a bit ridiculous. She incorporates sly tones and sarcastic humor to show just how over-the-top and extravagant the entire dog show competition idea is. She goes on to say that, “Pretty soon, Biff won’t have to worry about his diet.” Is this something a boorish boxer is really worrying about – gaining pounds that could jeopardize his chance at a ribbon? It’s clear this is an albeit ridiculous concern voiced by the owner of the dog, but Orlean does a fantastic job of using this dry humor to provide a whimsical and engaging social commentary of a scene she appears to find entertaining if not slightly over-the-top.

Throughout the entire piece, her conversational syntax is entirely accessible – it is not overly wordy, drawn out, or verbose. There is a simplicity to her writing and conversational, easy-going humor that makes it easy for readers to establish a relationship with the text. I think this was my biggest takeaway from the piece. When writing a profile piece, it is important to make readers want to care about something or someone they may not know anything about, nor have any interest in doing so. Orlean takes a very specific community, those of the show dogs, and writes about them in a way that is comic, easygoing, and engaging. More importantly, she uses her tone to create an element that makes readers care and want to keep on reading. Her bold approach and easy humor throughout the entire piece kept me engaged, and really showed the importance of using voice to establish an intimate connection with the reader.

A successful profiling piece leaves readers feeling like they intimately know the person being profiled, which is one of the hardest things to achieve as a writer. The author must establish a quick connection to the person they are profiling in order to narrate with a voice that is both informative, friendly, and knowledgeable. So for me, voice is a key component for profiling features – it should be informal, reflective, informed, and yet also give a sense of intimacy that comes along with spending time with the subject and getting to know him or her.

I think this is really apparent in Sean Casey’s profile – the author grabs readers’ attentions by showing rather than telling. Instead of simply stating that Sean is good with animals, she introduces who he is as a person through his interaction with the dog and how he immediately responds to Sean’s presence.

Similarly, the author of the Bernie Goetz piece really gives readers the impression that he got to him. He describes his habits and how he interacts with squirrels and then says, “That is Bernie Goetz.” The author makes it clear that he put the time and effort into getting to know his subject, which in turn gives readers this same sense of familiarity for who he is as a person. Research is one of the harder parts of the profile piece, but it is so necessary in order to create that personal connection and in turn give readers an accurate portrayal of who the person you’re writing about it.

The main thing I’m taking away from both of these pieces is to use action as a way to describe a person – do not merely say what your subject looks like or what his or her personality is like – show it through actions. This moves the narrative along, allows readers to draw their own conclusions about it, and provides an interesting action snapshot.

“Chairman of the Block” masterfully invokes all senses to give listeners an impression of complete immersion into the narrative. The narrative begins with a personal memory from a resident of the neighborhood who tells his story of when he first met the character named in the title. Mixed in with his narration is an underscore of the Frank Sinatra song that at times overwhelms the voice-over and at other times fades into the background, mirroring what the narrator is saying.

Along with the music portion invoking the audio aspect, the narration also invokes rich, sensory language that paints a vivid picture of the scene the narrator is setting. He describes the stoop the Sinatra-wannabe is singing on, the diversity of the audience listening to him, and the physical  neighborhood in Brooklyn. At 47:14, he says, “There at the corner a woman with spiky salt and pepper hair in a leopard print vest was doing a spirited if not slightly awkward tap-dance on a piece of wood she brought out on the sidewalk.” Immediately after saying this, the sounds of tap-dancing beats are added to the crooning of Sinatra song, once again giving listeners the impression that they are there on the very sidewalk, both witnessing and hearing the quirky woman’s dance.

The personal anecdote also invokes a sense of community for the listener because the narrator goes on to say that the corner of the street is blocked off with avid listeners who come together to see the two performers who live in the same building. The thrift store nearby provides an eclectic arrangement of couches and chairs for patrons to sit on, and again the sensory language used here really allows listeners paint a vivid mental image through a solely audible medium of storytelling.

What works really well with this piece is the constant inter-weaving of storytelling and song. The entire piece is underscored by various songs Nick is singing, and the music provides evidence of just how similar his voice is to Sinatra’s. Moreover, the narration itself works really well. Ira Glass could have easily narrated a biography of Nick, however, it is made more personal through first-hand accounts and distinct voices of people who have seen the singer and been a part of the audience. It adds authenticity and builds the ethos of the narration, once again, immersing readers into the story.

“Each fisherman has their own regular ‘spot,’ and they get very territorial over it.”

“The fisherman turned back and scowled, jarred at having his quiet concentration broken.”

“Spotted!”

ORIGIN: Boston, MA

BEHAVIORS: Reading, running, napping, netflixing (aka making verbs out of nouns)

HABITAT: Campus Center, red line, bookstores, Sugar Bowl

CHARACTERISTICS: Curly hair, constant smile, easily excitable, caffeine junkie, avid reader, short & spunky, always opinionated

CALL: “Do you want to hear about the different ways to get involved on campus??!!?!”