Essay 1: Photographic Memory Narrative

Purpose: Photographs capture the spaces between events, framing the expanse and motion of
existence. They omit everything surrounding that frame, and everything that occurred before and after
the shutter closed. With this essay, you will tell the story of a photograph, making meaning of the
experienceperhaps considering how it reflects or affected who you are and what you believe, the
way David Sedaris explores the idea of faith through an experience from French class in Jesus
Shaves, or Adam Beckman examines the importance and heritage of our possessions in The House
on Loon Lake. The idea here is to take an ordinary experience and make the expected unexpected.
Assignment: Find a significant photograph or artifact (an object like the drivers license in House on
Loon Lake) from your life and tell its story. The story might be yours directly or it might be a story your
life intertwined with. Be sure to use specific concrete details and keep your pacing slow. Focus on
crafting the atmosphere and energy of your experience with words.
Read: To prepare for this assignment, read EA Ch. 8: Writing a Narrative/Heres What Happened
and The Man Who Mistook His Hat for a Meal (Sedaris)
Focus: Remember that this is a story, not a summary, and should utilize the literary devices usually
associated with fiction.
Dont just describe what the photograph looks like. The photograph is intended to complement your
story, but dont reference it explicitly (in this photograph), be sure to describe the experience in
vivid detail as though the reader had no photograph to look at, and avoid reflecting on the nature of
photographs (a pictures worth a thousand words).
Audience: Readers of the New Yorker, a major U.S. magazine with a mostly college-educated
readership that is best known for publishing essays in which writers record their observations of
current life
Style: The style of the personal essay genre is conversational and relies on observed details about the
nature of the people and places in the story. It is filled with rich imagery, tension, dialogue, and
expresses some new understanding about the human condition.
Length: 3-4 pages (12 pt. times new roman, double-spaced)
Structure: Your structure might be linear or it might wander, as long as your story has an arch,
conflict, and a resolution. The meaning of the experiencewhat it taught you or how it changed you
should be stated.
Due Dates:
Thursday, February 4th: Rough Draft (3 copies)
Thursday, February 11th: Second Draft
Thursday, February 25th: Final Draft