You would think after two classes I would have a good definition, but the truth is that the definition has only gotten broader since we started. The dictionary says that creative means having the ability to create or a sophisticated bending of rules and conventions, while nonfiction is simply writing that deals with facts. So is creative nonfiction an oxymoron? Is it possible to play with the truth without making it untrue? How much can you bend its conventions before it shatters into, shall we say, a million little pieces?
I would say, based on our readings and discussions, that creative nonfiction is the truth colored by memory, viewed subjectively from some other place and time. The momentary things have fallen away, time has made the edges fuzzy and indistinct, and our perspective has reversed from inside-out to outside-in. It's not very specific, but I think it will do for the start. I'll try again when the course is over, to see if I can do any better.
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