From the Big Chair

When I was in college (the first time), my roommate made fun of the way I walked. He was probably right.

Has that made me sensitive to the way other people walk?

In the last year or so I’ve found myself noticing other peoples’ odd strides, weird wobbles and peculiar pacing.

Occasionally I find myself mimicking, clomping along in elephantine strides, or puffing out my chest and elbows for something more ursine.

What’s most fun is pushing out my hips and exaggerating my stride in order to become Mr. Natural. Keep on truckin’, Man!

But, “Hey, mocking people just isn’t cool, man,” you might say. Agreed. But who’s mocking?

I’m rehearsing.

Prof. Steve Coyne kicked off this year’s Friday is Writing Day schedule with a  presentation of “Taken In,” a work in progress.

When the discussion turned to the ethics of writing literary non-fiction I thought of John Hersey and an article I read long ago: “The Legend on the License.”

While journalists cannot be issued licenses, or have their reporter badges taken away, that does not mean they are without responsibilities. Hersey, author of Hiroshima, described one critical difference between journalists and novelists: “There is one sacred rule of journalism. The writer must not invent. The legend on the license must read: NONE OF THIS WAS MADE UP.”