"All storytelling is a form of manipulation, and all narrative may be subjective. But as Fingal notes, 'Just because you’re open to new interpretations doesn’t mean that all interpretations are valid.' In publishing D’Agata’s essay without tipping off readers to his modus operandi, The Believer — which in its submission guidelines for writers explicitly says: 'Please do not send fiction' — invites us down a slippery slope. For as soon as any detail can be called arbitrary, what faith are we to put in words at all? Suddenly there is no difference between essaying the Truth and essaying Truthiness."
Jennifer B. McDonald in The New York Times reviews John D’Agata and Jim Fingal's The Lifespan of a Fact.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
"Hogwash"
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