“The Profession’s Unloved Stepchild”: Writing Biography as Creative Nonfiction

Henry James’s biographer, Leon Edel, called biography the “unloved stepchild” of the historical profession, but he could have been describing the creative nonfiction community: many of those who read and write memoirs and personal essays find biography staid and old-fashioned. It needn’t be so. In this session, a historian and essayist will explore the craft and ethics of using literary techniques in biography. We will address how to use the essayist’s tools of voice, scene building, reflection, and braided structure to revitalize more traditional historical and biographical techniques like chronology, historical context, and the use of archival materials.