The Words of Six Work Postcards

The Selection

At first, I wondered why Taylor said "it was difficult to find a common theme within all the different stories in Short Takes," but I soon discovered some truth to what she said. Nevertheless, after some arduous searching, I've found three picks that relate to each other both thematically and structurally. These selections are Lawrence Sutin's Six Postcards, Joe Mackall's Words of My Youth, and Kim Barnes Work.   

Theme

The unifying theme that is present in all these short stories is Youth and Maturity.

Mackall's piece is a recount of a moment of his life--young and unrefined--spewing words that he innocently does not fully grasp the meaning, but says it anyways without concern for the consequences. He makes mistakes, and in one account, Mackall was punched in the face for calling the "kid-man's" girlfriend a "dyke." This was a reality check for the author, and he begins to realize the faults of his words, but  concludes that these words naturally come along just like any other typical occurrences. 

Six Postcards is a retelling of Sutin's life accounts growing up. Sutin write about his journey as a boy to fatherhood. He recalls the growing pains with his father, and the feeling of being a father himself--full circle. He talks about the things he observed such as summer girls, and the lessons he learned like the bittersweet moments of taking care a child. 

Kim Barnes talks about the work she has done from her youth to adulthood. The story also focuses on the change of perspective on gender roles. She writes about her mother and her acknowledgement that she is of the submissive sex. On the contrary, in the last section, Barnes is seen in a role reversal as she is a strong woman who chops wood to earn some income for the family.

In my opinion, an important note in nonfiction is the theme. Writing can take many forms, styles and genres; but the most important thing is the central message to the readers. "What's important in this piece and why is this important to the reader" is a question writers should always ask when writing. It provides direction, and not a regurgitation of life accounts that do not add up.

Structure

In terms of structure, all the selected pieces are memoirs of the author. A memoir is a unique form of writing that is used in nonfiction. Unlike an autobiography, a memoir only covers certain portions of the author's life. It is a has a specific focus and seeks to implicitly/explicitly shared the experience and knowledge gained that has changed the author's perspective in life. 

These pieces also incorporate paragraph breaks--either by adding sub-titles or numbers. This is to signify a transition to a different segment of the author's life, a different lesson to be told. This method also compliments the memoir style as it only focuses on the experiences that matter--as opposed to an autobiography that seeks to reveal every chronological detail. 

In nonfiction, it is important to focus on what's important. Memoirs, as mentioned earlier, is a selection of crucial life-changing events that tell something about the writer and delivers a message to readers. I sometimes find myself inclined to write as many details as possible in my stories, trying to draw the scene as vivid as possible, but not every detail mattered. That crooked nail protruding from the wall would not be of importance to a story about an abusive father beating a child unless it had a purpose. Nonfiction. There is purpose, something to be told in nonfiction.

As Sutin writes: "The names and facts of my life as names and facts are insignificant...All I know is of these things or states and how they made me feel. That would be truth in this book."