LiteraryStudies Journalism Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2009 Return address: Literary Journalism Studies State University of New York at Cortland Department of Communication Studies P.O. Box 2000 LJS Cortland, New York 13045-0900 U.S.A. Literary Journalism Studies Inaugural Issue The Problem and the Promise of Literary Journalism Studies by Norman Sims An exclusive excerpt from the soon-to-be-released narrative nonfiction account, published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath by Michael and Elizabeth Norman Writing Narrative Portraiture by Michael Norman South: Where Travel Meets Literary Journalism by Isabel Soares Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2009 2009 Spring 1, No. 1, Vol. “My Story Is Always Escaping into Oher People” by Robert Alexander Differently Drawn Boundaries of the Permissible by Beate Josephi and Christine Müller Recovering the Peculiar Life and Times of Tom Hedley and of Canadian New Journalism by Bill Reynolds Published at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, U.S.A. The Journal of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies On the Cover he ghost image in the background of our cover is based on this iconic photo Tof American prisoners-of-war, hands bound behind their backs, who took part in the 1942 Bataan Death March. The Death March is the subject of Michael and Elizabeth M. Norman’s forthcoming Tears in the Darkness, pub- lished by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Excerpts begin on page 33, followed by an essay by Michael Norman on the challenges of writing the book, which required ten years of research, travel, and interviewing American and Filipino surivivors of the march, as well as Japanese participants. Photo is in the collection of the United States National Archives and is in the public domain. Literary Journalism Studies The Journal of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies Inaugural Issue, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2009 Contents For Contributors 4 Note from the Editor 5 The Problem and the Promise of Literary Journalism Studies Norman Sims 7 South: Where Travel Meets Literary Journalism Isabel Soares 17 An Exclusive Excerpt from Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath Michael and Elizabeth M. Norman 31 Writing Narrative Portraiture Michael Norman 50 “My Story Is always Escaping Into other People”: Subjectivity, Objectivity, and the Double in American Literary Journalism Robert Alexander 57 Differently Drawn Boundaries of the Permissible in German and Australian Literary Journalism Beate Josephi and Christine Müller 67 Recovering the Peculiar Life and Times of Tom Hedley and of Canadian New Journalism Bill Reynolds 79 Book Reviews 105 Mission Statement 128 International Association for Literary Journalism Studies 129 2 Copyright © 2009 International Association for Literary Journalism Studies. All rights reserved. Published twice a year, Spring and Fall issues. Single-issue price, $15. Subscriptions, $30/year (individuals), $75/year (libraries). ISSN 1994-897X 3 Literary Journalism Studies John C. Hartsock, Editor State University of New York at Cortland, U.S.A. Jenny McKay, Associate Editor William Dow, Managing Editor University of Stirling, Scotland American University of Paris, France Book Review Editors Thomas B. Connery Susie Eisenhuth University of St. Thomas, U.S.A. University of Technology, Australia Circulation Manager Ginger Carter Miller Georgia College and State University, U.S.A. Editorial Offices Literary Journalism Studies State University of New York at Cortland Department of Communication Studies P.O. Box 2000 Cortland, New York 13045-0900 U.S.A. Email: [email protected] Literary Journalism Studies is the journal of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies and is published twice yearly. At present the print version is only available through membership in the association. For infor- mation on membership, go to www.ialjs.org. MEMBER OF THE Council of Editors of Learned Journals Published at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, U.S.A. 4 FOR CONTRIBUTORS ITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIES invites submission of scholarly arti- Lcles on literary journalism, which is also known as narrative journalism, liter- ary reportage, reportage literature, “new journalism,” and the nonfiction novel, as well as literary nonfiction and creative nonfiction that emphasizes cultural revelation. The journal has an international focus and seeks submissions on the theory, history and pedagogy of literary journalism throughout the world. All disciplinary approaches are welcome. Submissions should be informed with an awareness of the existing scholarship and should be between 3,000 and 8,000 words in length, including notes. To encourage international dialogue, the jour- nal is open to publishing one short example or an excerpt of literary journalism per issue accompanied by a scholarly gloss about a writer not widely known out- side his or her country. The example or excerpt must be translated into English. The scholarly gloss must be between 1,500 and 2,500 words long and indicate why the example is important in the context of its national culture. Together, both the text and the gloss must not exceed 8,000 words in length. The con- tributor is responsible for obtaining all copyright permissions, including from the publisher, author and translator as necessary. The journal is also willing to consider publication of exclusive excerpts of narrative literary journalism ac- cepted for publication by major publishers. E-mail submission (as an MS Word attachment) is mandatory. A cover page indicating the title of the paper, the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and contact information, along with an abstract (50-100 words), should accompany all submissions. The cover page should be sent as a separate attachment from the abstract and submission to facilitate distribution to readers. The author’s name should not appear on the abstract or on the paper. All submissions must be in English Microsoft Word and follow the CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE (Humanities endnote style)<http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_cita- tionguide.html>. All submissions will be blind reviewed. Send submissions to the editor at <[email protected]>. Copyright reverts to the contributor after publication with the provision that if republished reference is made to initial publication in LITERARY JOURNAL- ISM STUDIES. OOK REVIEWS: Book reviews of 1,000-2,000 words on both the scholar- Bship of literary journalism and recent original works of literary journalism that deserve greater recognition among scholars are invited. Book reviews are not blind reviewed but selected by the book review editors based on merit. Re- viewers may suggest book review prospects or write the book review editors for suggestions. Usually reviewers will be responsible for obtaining their respective books. Book reviews and/or related queries should be sent to Tom Connery at <[email protected]> or Susie Eisenhuth at <[email protected]. au>. 5 Note from the editor . oday, there can be little doubt that there is a need for a Tscholarly journal dedicated to the study of literary journalism (and its variations), a discourse committed to what I like to call the “aesthetics of experience.” For much too long, scholars dedicated to this study have understood that there is a critical and cultural value to this once-neglected genre. The inaugural issue of this journal serves to demonstrate that this scholarship has come of age. The need for such a journal is especially compelling now. We live in a time of dramatic change, not only at our respective local and national levels, but at the global as well. It is during such times that literary journalism has thrived because of a fundamental human need to try to understand at the more personal level the new complexities that are so much larger than us—and that threaten to overwhelm us. Among other reasons, the appeal of literary journalism derives from the fact that the human mind is wired to engage in inquiry into the world by telling stories in the conventional sense of “storytelling.” At the heart of “storytelling” is the symbiosis of narrative and descriptive modalities. What we’re talking about is a “narra-descriptive journalism” with literary ambition, or the capacity to prompt us imaginatively to consider and negotiate different possibilities of meaning. It is a genre that “tease[s] us out of thought,” to crib from the poet Keats. At the heart of such a genre, then, is cognitive self-efficacy or personal enfranchisement. Literary journalism insists that we need to confront, however challenging, the phenomenal expression of our world. It needs to be examined by students in order to encourage their own sense of self-efficacy in dealing with the complexities of that world, as well as to understand its power for encouraging personal and social change (whether for better or ill). It also needs to be studied by scholars in order to illuminate aesthetic, critical, cultural, and historical contexts for not only students but society at large. Finally, in the complexities of a postmodern world where the image has come to vie with what was once a print world, literary journalism, because of its inherent appeal, needs to be studied for the sake of print literacy—whether on paper or in electronic form. After all, we now know that