Abstract
My dissertation, The Knowing in the Neck: Memoir of a Girlhood in the Glades, is divided into three sections. The genre of this dissertation may be categorized as creative nonfiction, memoir or autobiography, but I feel “memoir” works best overall. The first section particularly fits the definition of creative non fiction in that each chapter is a construction of information based on what Lee Gutkind, editor of Creative Nonfiction, names “the 5 Rs” or “reading other people’s work, ‘riting on a regular schedule, reflection, research (information/reportage) and real life.” I’d categorize the second section as “memoir” due to the distinctly short shapes of the chapters which are created from moments of my childhood and center on my subjective memory. Reflection and research are absent in these small vignettes; I only create a scene using traditional creative writing techniques of dialogue and description. Often, I employ present tense in this section similar to chapters in Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes or Sheila Ortiz-Taylor’s Imaginary Parents. The last section most closely resembles the genre “autobiography” because I build a chapter trying to explain many years in a certain period. It is reflective and encompassing, but does not employ researched information. Unlike autobiography, this section does not cover my entire life, but only a few years. Because of this narrow focus, it is more similar to memoir.
For a while now, the genre of memoir has not been limited to those who have lived a full, noteworthy life. Mary Carr’s The Liar’s Club and Maxine Hong Kingston’s Woman Warrior have shown readers they could make simple relatives into mythic characters. It is my observation that one of the most important things about a lived-life is understanding that life and recognizing the epiphanies that occurred and articulating the unarticulated. Recognizing these moments required only that I examine sharp visuals to see what made them sharp. The pay-off was often enlightening and could not have been pre-planned.
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