Savich and Prevallet

Savich
In Zach Savich's Crumbling Expectations, he talks about a book his father had tried to write by the same name. It was to be about the owner of a resort that was crumbling into the lake. But, he had to stop writing it due to having to recover from cancer. In this way, his father's book is the resort - he had hoped to write this novel, but, just as the resort did, it crumbled under the weight of an unfortunate event. Savich later states "I didn't realize a book is itself an embrace." Books are indeed an "embrace" - they are a comfort, something we can relate to. They are everything we are and everything we want to be.

Prevallet

In Kristin Prevallet's Mythology and Homonym, I most thoroughly enjoyed the play on words. For example, "I" and "eye" were compared. Essentially, there were always two words that looked different but sounded the same. They are words that sound exactly alike, but hold entirely different meanings. I thought this was an interesting choice for her to make.

Essay Packet 1

Creative essays are often described as having both the elements of poetry and prose. In our essay packet 1, there are several examples of this. One example is the first segment of Halls of Fame by John D'Agata. In this section, there isn't a plot; there aren't characters. Instead, there are what seem to be stanzas; the section looks more like a poem than any kind of "essay".

On the other hand, Annie Dillard's Total Eclipse shows more characteristics of the prose side of creative essays. There are settings, characters, and plot. This essay also represents creative essays in that it seems to consist mainly of memories. Most creative essays are narrated versions of the author's childhood.

Both of these essays from our first packet show many of the characteristics of creative essays, including the poetry/prose ideas and the fact that they incorporate the authors' memories.