“They Came Out Like Ants! Searching for the Chinese Tunnels of Mexicali”
This story is a sample of literary journalism because it tells the struggles that Vollmann had to go through to get the story. Lots of news stories take a lot of effort, but the audience never knows what the author goes through in a normal news stories, but a literary journalism piece can include all the struggles. Of all the articles we read, this one was my least favorite, it was a very slow story with not a lot action. The topic was interesting but it was hard to keep reading.
“They Came Out Like Ants! Searching for the Chinese Tunnels of Mexicali” by William T. Vollmann was the assigned article for this week’s class. The article is about a man who is discussing the possibly of the Chinese having secret tunnels under the city of Mexicali. He first encounters the sisters Hernandez who claimed they knew that the many Chinese used to hide in the tunnels. They also discussed how during a great fire underground that caused the Chinese to flee and appear as a bunch of ants.
The rest of the story is Vollmann continuing to search the town for these tunnels and to figure how if they actually do exist. Several sources say they don’t exist, but Vollmann proves they do and even gets to see one with this own two eyes. In the search for these tunnels, he finds much information relative to the history of the Chinese people in the area.
This story is a sample of literary journalism because it tells the struggles that Vollmann had to go through to get the story. Lots of news stories take a lot of effort, but the audience never knows what the author goes through in a normal news stories, but a literary journalism piece can include all the struggles. Of all the articles we read, this one was my least favorite, it was a very slow story with not a lot action. The topic was interesting but it was hard to keep reading.
“My Crowd Or, Phase 5: A Report from the Inventor of the Flash Mob”
For an article of my choice, I read “My Crowd Or, Phase 5: A Report from the Inventor of the Flash Mob” by Bill Wasik. The article details the story of how the flash mob came to be. Wasik started the first flash mob by setting up a fake email and forwarding himself an invitation which he then forwarded on to several people. He did this so he would not appear as the creator of the flash mob. Wasik arranged several mobs, but the article also discusses his overlooking of Ford Fusion Flash Concerts. The company arranged different flash concerts in order to generate news about their cars.
Overall, this piece is literary journalism because it directly informs you what exactly was going on in Wasik’s mind, rather than using quotes like a typical news story. We have discussed in class the concept of footnotes, and I am starting to think when footnotes are used in literary journalism pieces they tie in facts that are not directly related to the story but are very interesting.
My Own Ideas
Today technology is everywhere; even typing this I’m using my laptop and sitting next to me is my cell phone. My idea for a literary journalism piece would be go a few days without any communication technology, no cell phone, no laptop, no iPod, and no using school computers. I think this would be super challenging because basically whenever I forget my cell phone, I feel like a part of me is missing. I’m not always on my cell phone, but I think it’s my connection to anyone who isn’t in the same room as me, such my friends who attend different schools, parents, and siblings.
Another idea would be to not talk for a whole day, and I don’t just mean sit in front of the television all day, and write notes to people in the room. This idea would require the individual to get out of the city and spend the day where there are very few people. The day would involve just the person and their thoughts.
New York Times Examples
An example of literary journalism in the Monday, September 12, 2011 issue is titled “Closing a Nursing Home and a Chapter of New York History” The first time of the article sets the tone for making it a sample. “Her 98-year old father lies under white sheets, frail and incoherent, attached to a feeding tube and a catheter. But Rose Lauria visits him nearly every day..” The story continues to discuss the effects the move will have on her father’s condition and several other patients. The article also discusses this move closes a chapter of New York because the nursing one was one of the last major Jewish Institutions.
Another example of literary journalism is from the Dining section of the Wednesday, September 14th issues of the NYT. The title of the article is “Italy, So Close You Can Taste It.” The article details the author, David Tanis, who is attempting to cook an Italian meal. He starts at the supermarket and continues until the meal is complete including dessert.
Misinformation Intern: My Summer as a Military Propagandist in Iraq
This week we started reading a new book containing examples of literary journalism. The book is called Submersion Journalism: Reporting in the Radical First Person from Harper’s Magazine. The article that we read was called Misinformation Intern: My Summer as a Military Propagandist in Iraq by Willem Marx. The article tells the story of Willem Marx after he graduated from Oxford before he started journalism school. Marx had an opportunity to have a media internship in Iraq. Marx main job was to make the military happy by choosing news stories that were written U.S. military members had written by combing wire stories and their own reports from the field.
Marx would give the selected stories to Muhammad and his team, so they would be translated into Arabic. Marx would also select the Iraqi newspapers that the stories would be run the stories, all with different prices. Marx successfully maintained this role during his time in Iraq, including dealing with a situation of an employee of the company not being one hundred percent honest.
I think that this piece qualifies as literary journalism because right off the back, the reader will realize that the article (and all from this book) is written in first person. Secondly, the author uses personal history to tell the story. For example, he mentions John’s Simpsons, Strange Places, Questionable People and describing its content because it inspired him to become a journalist.
The article also involves the concept of how scary the real world can be, especially in a war zone. Marx references this point when he questions why a copy of his dental records are needed, and then realizes that he might get so injured that he could only be identified by his teeth. Also within this point, something to consider is how much is it worth risking for your career.
Another concept that deals with literary journalism is how Marx describes people when he introduces him. Instead of just including a person’s name and job, he includes specific details which typically wouldn’t be included in a news story. For example, when Gia, another worker is Iraq, is described as a fair skinned woman in her late twenties. Overall, this article has many components that combine to make an excellent sample of literary journalism.
A Foreign Affair: On the Great Ukrainian Bride Hunt
The second article from the same book that I read was called A Foreign Affair: On the Great Ukrainian Bride Hunt by Kristoffer A. Garin. The article details Garin’s trip to Ukraine with a tour group consisting of thirty men all ready to participate in a two week bride hunt. Garin didn’t tell anyone that his true profession was a journalist, but he used this experience to write a literary journalism story.
This article is considered literary journalism because it details tells every experience that Garin and other go through in their attempts to find the perfect woman. Garin also address everything that their trustful leader “Dan the Man” tells him in regards to what to expect from the woman and the culture of the country. Also I think the topic of bride hunting and mail order things is somewhat scandalous for a typical newspaper, but can lead to a wonderful literary journalism piece.
New York Time Examples
In the Thursday, September 8th edition of the New York Times there was a great example of literary journalism involving the upcoming tenth anniversary of September 11th, 2001. This story was in the Styles section and titled, “A Bond Forged in Tragedy.” The story details how ten years ago, there was a fashion show where young designers were supposed to be starting their careers. They would be interrupted with the events that good place on that day, ten years ago. The article gives several different points of view of people who were to be involved with the fashion show.
My Ideas
My writing partner (while at Bemidji State University, we have competed several projects together, we make a great team) DJ and I were discussing what we write together for our own literary journalism. Several days ago, we were sitting in DJ’s dorm room looking at old comic books. In one from 1994, there was a section of letters written by readers to the comic, one of them contained a message from a man who was going for a pen pal and left his address. We decided to write him a letter, hoping that he still lives there and will write us back. Sticking with the superhero comics theme, we researched an event held in Minneapolis this year called the Fallcon Comic Book Party. We are planning on attending this daylong event and doing a literary journalism piece similar to the piece on the State Fair.
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