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Karr’s chapter on information, facts, and data really helped me understand the way I should insert certain information into my memoir. Before reading this chapter, I was a bit confused and honestly I felt that when I added facts / information in my writing it seemed like a list. Karr teaches us that facts should be sprinkled into our writing. She also suggests that instead of just stating a plain judgement of something, that we describe how we came to that judgement. Instead of saying why we hate something, we should tell our readers why we came to that specific opinion on something. For example, instead of stating that you hate someone or something, try explaining why and how you came to that opinion on a certain subject. Karr also teaches us that giving too much information all at once can hurt your writing. Some information must be given in order for the reader to understand your story but at the same time, giving that information can get rid of the whole idea of mystery in your essay. For example, certain data can be crucial to your essay but it eliminates the whole idea of letting the reader make their own assumptions or speculations.
ReplyDeleteI feel like sometimes Kathrym Ferguson has more insight that other times. Sometimes her readings call my attentions but sometimes it is just so boring. I honestly get bored reading her work. Although, she does do a very good job at painting images in my head.
Jennifer Millan
Word count 250
I actually really enjoyed Ferguson’s Chapter 18 & 19. Although the reading was a bit long, I thought the author brought up several political issues that occur across the United States on a daily basis. Chapter 18, entitled “Phone Call”, reminds me of the scandal involving the NSA- where information had been leaked regarding their countless legal infractions that invaded citizen's privacy. In chapter 19 entitled “Detained”, we see how officials working for the government abused their power and crossed personal boundaries with the author which is a huge issue in cities across the US.
ReplyDeleteWe also see how Ferguson uses descriptions of the “law enforcement agents”(who were with the departments of interior and wildlife) to label them since they didn't give names. We are able to gather information from these characters in a different kind of way, not sure if it would be counted as being “linguistically cleaver” as Karr describes, but it's unique.
I have recently been reading a few works by Mark Twain, and find his quote at the beginning of Chapter 13 from Karr’s Art of Memoir to be ironic. While children tend to squeeze data into a list format, they can also dramatize scenarios and unintentionally play with linguistic forms while sharing facts and information- like Orwell and McCourt. I also liked how Karr pointed out that we should recreate a scene so that our judgment carries credibility. We should show the reader examples of why this person is a bad person instead of just making an abstract judgment, it will not only be more believable but it will get the reader to think like you and gain understanding.
M. Sarah Sanchez
Okay, so Karr’s chapter is pretty short and to the point. I believe she is simply saying that in order to make the facts interesting a writer must stay away from simply listing them in order. She is saying to give the information a life of its own by making it detailed and different. I like the example of telling the date based on events in history during the time in which the story is taking place. I have never written in this manner but I would not be opposed to trying to incorporate some of this into my memoir.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 18 of Ferguson’s book she tells how her phone may be tapped and how she experienced weird phone messages which turned out to be suspicious in nature. She then describes when she witnesses Ramuri being deported and a man named Martin who almost dies in the desert while trying to escape to Phoenix. She eventually makes it back to Guadalajara to visit the man and his family.
Chapter 19 tells of her experience while being detained by very shady men in the desert while on a mission to rescue border crossers. I am actually surprised to see that Ferguson actually shows some sort of emotion when she is handcuffed and searched. She claims she feels dizzy like symptoms which finally give her a human-like appeal. In the previous chapters she goes through a tornado and other life changing events, like the visiting of her parents gravesites, and never really gave much detail for the reader but in this portion she gives us the greatest amount of information.
Sheryl cavazos
I don’t like Ferguson. I don’t like how she presents her story and I don’t like how she wrote it. I am not saying that she is a bad writer, but personally I can’t find any real substance to her writing. Maybe somebody tomorrow can explain to me if they can see through her writing because I honestly can’t see through it. I can hear her talking in my head when I’m reading her work and I am personally annoyed by her voice. I know, I just said voice. I am annoyed by the voice that I hear when I read her work. I know that writing is difficult and not everyone is going to like the same thing and that just turns out to be the case for me when it comes to this book. I don’t like her work. If she has written more books than good for her, but this book alone makes me want to never read a book again. I apologize for my cruelty teach, but I’ve snapped. I keep asking myself what was the point? It took close to two thirds of her book to get to the whole point and her main story is not even that long. She took more time talking in the first half than writing down a story. Maybe she did just write this so that she could get more funding. If that is the case than it worked. The title alone makes you want to pick it up. Karr gives more good points about facts and that we shouldn’t just pick facts for no reason. They should be blended into the story so that the reader does not realize that he is being fed information. I like what she said. The facts should have a reason to the story, like a psychological interest, or building a setting so that we can see what you are writing. What karr says makes sense. I can agree to it.
ReplyDeleteWord Count: 322
Juan Garcia Jr
Though I still maintain that Fergusson’s writing is way too theoretical/ vague for a memoir, in chapter 19 I was able to get some feeling out of her vague writing from the time she was being detained. This is extremely significant because Ferguson makes it hard for readers to feel what she does. To me this was the most significant part of the readings for Ferguson.
ReplyDeleteKarr’s chapter was actually very helpful to me for my own writing, I tend to write down /speak about events as a list. This is what Karr writes to stay away from. She tells us to instead write the events in a spaced out way, so instead of writing like a grocery store list, we should describe each event as well as we possibly can while also still giving the reader some room to imagen things, before moving on to the next event. This can get to be a little difficult for me because of the fact that I have become so used to writing and speaking about events/ things in a chronological way. This is something that I can connect back to my family, because in my family it is ‘speak fast or most likely not at all’. It became a habit of mine speak in a way that allows for me to get my point or points across quickly, which in turn has a negative effect on the way that I write sometimes. After reading this chapter, I have a better understanding as to how it is that I am supposed to spread out my events and make the reader more engaged.
Karina Gonzalez
Word Count: 270
I feel a little bad due to the negativity that Ferguson’s book is getting and also that I agree with the negativity. I struggle so much to read her book maybe because I just don’t like the story in general. Don’t get me wrong she writes great its just the material itself seems bland. The one good thing is that her writing goes well with Karr’s chapter. Regardless of her story I feel like she delivers the right amount of information for the most part. There have been a couple of times earlier in the story that did feel like we had too much but the rest as been good. Karr speaks this time about how not to leave out information in the beginnings of the memoir, and that is something that I never thought too much about partly because I assumed I was giving the right amount of information but I learned through the workshop days, not to assume. Information is crucial to every work written because it adds a layer of depth to the work that nothing else can provide. She mainly mentions how we also shouldn’t bombard the reader with information that will seem like they’re receiving a lecture. It is important to make this information sound more appealing to the reader and she does give two ways to deliver this information. This is another one of those very straightforward chapters from Karr that, at least for me, talks about something all writers should be aware of regardless of it being a memoir or not, although I sound like I am bragging It serves its purpose well to remind us that we need to be on constant awareness of our writing as a whole.
ReplyDeleteAmaury Cabrera
word count - 287
I learned a lot form Karr’s chapter on information and data. It is very important to give your reader lots of information in your memoir so they can get good mental images. Karr says that that this information should be given in a way that is “felt.” The info should reflect the writer’s values and cares. I do think the examples of the kinds of information to give are a bit broad. From what I could understand it should be information about important details of the setting, certain artifacts, and distinguishable details of people. The information should be fed to the reader in a way that they don’t notice they are being given these facts. It is also important to imbed information correctly. Instead of blurting facts out they should be hidden among your memoir therefore allowing the reader to lean as they read. I really like this strategy because I like the idea of writing something and coming back to it to add this information. Karr suggests interviewing yourself to see why a certain setting was important or how to show the reader how you came to that opinion. Ferguson on the other hand is clearly getting a lot of hate from everyone and as much as I don’t want to jump on this bandwagon this memoir has lost its appeal. At this point in the story she is being detained and we are getting to see lot of emotion from her. Unfortunately as far as imbedding information it’s not very subtle. The info provided isn’t given to the reader without them knowing. The way the information is put into the story makes it quite boring and a hassle to get through.
ReplyDeleteOlivia Hinojosa
Ferguson has been hard to read. I can’t help myself to turn the next page because she violates exactly what Karr advises not to do in chapter 13 “on information, facts, and data.” I barely could read chapter 18, and I did not bother to finish “glancing” through chapter 19. It is extremely hard to follow her direction. Exactly when you feel you have an idea of where Ferguson is taking her memoir book, you are wrong. She has too many twist and turns that are unnecessary. We left off with the realization that she no longer wants to travel and feels at home when she is taken to her father’s tomb. There is no follow up, and we find out she is still continuing with her new documentary of Rita, but I can’t help myself to pay enough attention to detail to try to find out the larger story at hand. Ferguson overwhelms you with details. She basically shot guns her life to you as a poor attempt of memoir. Don’t get me wrong, she provided great examples of what Karr calls carnality, voice, and use concise of information, facts, and data. However these are seldom and can be counted. Honestly, I am not going to pull the race card of because she is white. That doesn’t matter. What matters here is the execution of her memoir. It isn’t a memoir. It’s a recollection. Unfiltered, unprocessed, crude, recollection of memories that Ferguson thought could garner her some extra buck on the side.
ReplyDeleteAlejandro Sanchez
Karr’s chapter really helped me out today. I was having a very hard time trying to figure out a way to give enough facts and data in my memoir so the reader can understand where I am and the significance behind my story, but I had packed it all in into one giant paragraph. After reading chapter 13, I have a better understanding of what I should do. I agree that it is better to sprinkle the facts around and use data skillfully when talking about the people in my story. One of the problems I have with Ferguson is the Spanish. They never state if this is actually how these Spanish sentences were said or if it is just how they remember it. In any case, if you’re going to publish a book that people are going to purchase, the least you can do is check the translations. “Que fresca es el aire”? If you are using the determiner ‘el,’ which is masculine, then in should be fresco. I did not bring up the Spanish in chapter 9 when they forgot to add a ‘?’ at the beginning of the question “Andas preocupado?” or in chapter 10 when they wrote “No sabes desperar,” where I am pretty sure they meant to write: “No sabes disparar,” because I thought those would be a one-time thing. To me, these are very careless mistakes. I understand nobody is perfect, and I am not saying this should be this huge deal, but it does bother me. The least they could have done was recheck their work. Aside from those hiccups, I felt like these chapters were much more fast paced and easier to read than the previous. I like how Ferguson manages to incorporate facts without drowning the reader, just how Karr advises us in their chapter.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Gutierrez
Although I know my opinion is not in the majority, I really enjoyed Ferguson's book. Though she is writing from an outsider point of view, I think she is sincere, and the subjects and the experiences that she writes about are close to her heart. It was difficult to reconcile some of the things that Karr writes about to what Ferguson writes in her memoir, but I think it is important to remember that these are not rules set in stone. Karr has even said herself that she can tell another writer absolutely the things they must do and the things that they cannot do. I think that Ferguson's memoir is rich in experience and, though the memoir may not agree with everyone's tastes, I do believe that it is sincere.
ReplyDeleteDoris Tolar
The Kar chapter in this reading was heavily focused on the concrete aspects of a work. Although we have learned that we are subjective in our memory, Karr offers concrete evidence such as data and factual evidence as a counterbalance. In my own memoir essays I can see the lack of concrete evidence in the forms of dates and numbers. However I think that the facts of a story can be about the situation and not myself or the subject. Karr uses the example of the high commission lying about war losses ten fold. The facts of the scene or society around the story at the time can reveal insight into why certain feelings are being had. Which is the strength of the Ferguson piece. When we look at how she was treated by the officers the descriptive details, though hallow, the clear and precise visual that was given allows for a more traumatic experience to be transferred to the reader. This is what I think is the ultimate goal of Karr’s suggestion for factual details. On page 62 “Some facts hold so much drama or psychological interest, they prompt natural curiosity and a desire to know more” which is seen in the Ferguson piece. The description of the phone line being tapped is based on the all too real sounds that are made when this occurs. Although only a minority of readers would know that tapping into a phone sounds like off hand, when the story can be given validity by the reader using outside sources the work benefits as a whole.
ReplyDeleteGabriel Martinez
Word Count 263
Karr’s advice was very useful. The idea of packaging facts together to gain/hold interest is brilliant. It makes me think of comedy and the importance of Delivery. I find that the best jokes are not the ones that are over saturated with language and movement but those which say only enough. To me this parallels Karr’s notion of peppering facts and data where beckoned, as opposed to laying them out in a monotonous format not dissimilar from that of a scholastic textbook. Jokes are horribly unsuccessful when they require clarification or explanation and are successes when the relevant associations are made within the receptor. The same can be said of the delivery of facts and information I feel. The most interesting story will not be the one with a detailed list of streets and vendors and parks, it will be the one that recreates an evening in San Luis Potosi.
ReplyDeleteThe Ferguson chapters were written and so they were read. I personally do not believe that I would read this book outside of class. It is a shame because I enjoy Ferguson’s writing style I think it has a nice flow and eloquence with just the right amount of abstractions but frankly the content is not for my interests.
Andres Trevino
While it is important to include data and facts and details in a memoir, Karr cautions that too much or the wrong kind can actually detract from a memoir. Rather than engage the reader, it can drive them away. There is a saying for this: too much of a good thing. Though I know most of my classmates might disagree with me, I do not feel that Ferguson is guilty of this. I have been enjoying the data and the information that she has been sharing with the reader. It may be that since our class is comprised of people who live on the border and are familiar with, or at least have knowledge of, the kind of things that Ferguson concerns herself with, we have difficulty connecting to Ferguson telling this story as if these events are shockingly new?
ReplyDeleteDoris Tolar
Despite the fact that fergusons book is extremely hard to read and keep the pages turning, karr's chapter was extremely helpful. It is crucial to include facts in a memoir, but make sure it's not just a list of information being jammed together. Be clever when stating the facts to the point where you're not giving too much away to the reader, but making the reader feel like they're in the moment. Sometimes too much is not the best thing.
ReplyDeleteMayela Montenegro
In chapter 13, Karr talks about being careful with giving too much information. She says information could be a good writer’s nemesis. She even at a point says that skillful writers “package facts” and sprinkle them in and are just as powerful instead of giving their readers a list of facts. It is better to describe a person for the things they do or say than sticking a label on them because it might not mean the same years from now, as Karr mentions. I feel that Ferguson at times gave many descriptions, sometimes too many, but it works because it was a different time from our own and we have seen the issues progress and see it faster because of media but for a lot of us we need things and need to get our info now since we live in such a fast-paced time. We get news and information off of social media, most of us, and we have instant messaging and everything is fast pace so reading her details could be frustrating but it was a different time then and you had phones and most research was actually done on foot as she did and she was able to see things for what they were. Today we can’t stand around the border and examine things because times have changed. Ferguson did her best to give us an insight but she said the events as they were without saying if anyone was the good or bad guy.
ReplyDeleteLisa Marie Serna