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The writer has to be like the firefighter, whose job, while everyone else is fleeing the flames, is to run straight into them. — Jonathan Franzen in The Best American Essays 2016
After reading Katherine Bomer’s book The Journey is Everything, meeting her virtually by hosting a Twitter chat, and meeting her face to face at NCTE16, I have a new understanding of the power of essay. Katherine’s passion for the resurgence of the real essay came through in the panel she hosted at NCTE with Corinne Arens, Allyson Smith, and Matthew Harper. These teachers experienced the transformative power of essay in a writing institute, and transferred that understanding to their classrooms.
Unpacking my notes, I rediscovered this way of thinking and writing. In real essay, we explore Hot Spots, Buried Truths, and Freedom. We write to think, leaving space for unknowing. Like a conversation with your best friend, real essay uses words like maybe and perhaps while circling around an idea, unwinding your thinking.
Essay is literature. Essay includes ideas, voice, and risk. It is the risk that stood out to me. Isn’t all writing risky? Yes, but adding the element of risk to essay has been funneled out by the Common Core testing. And when we remove risk, we remove what makes us human. Jonathan Franzen agrees as he writes in the introduction to the 2016 collection of The Best American Essays, “A true essay is ‘something hazarded, not definitive, not authoritative; something ventured on the basis of the author’s personal experience and subjectivity.'”
Writers are not born, they are made. In order to discover what we think, what we know, what we are passionate about, we need to be real in our essays, in our blog posts, with our students. When we trust this process of discovery, we allow our students an opportunity to express themselves beyond 5 paragraph essay structure.
The writer holds the paintbrush. Rather than painting an image with authority, paint with abandon to the rules. The image will be creative, expressive, and all yours.
Reflections on the Teche 
Margaret,
Apparently we have BOTH been savoring the power of essay this week as we wrote our slices about them today. I love that my top two sessions at #NCTE16 BOTH had Katherine Bomer as a part of the panel!
Essay is literature. And poetry is also literature. Both are transformative because they are real, truthful writing!
I love the quote by your fourth grader. Very special. I’m going to save it.
That quote was from the session. Not my own student. Isn’t it great?
The idea of risk taking hit home. More and more I see teachers playing it safe with kids because of “the test.” This robs them of the chance to take risks, try things out, grow as writers. If we create confident writers, the test will take care of itself.
This was exactly the premise of this work. We need to stop teaching the test and start teaching the individual.
As my 8th graders moved closer to leaving and moving on to high school, I had parents push me to teach the 5 paragraph essay because that is what they knew that was important learning in high school. I had to explain often how what their children were doing with their writing would give them a boost when they had to follow those strict guidelines. It wasn’t easy to resist, but my students left with the power of being real writers, not recipe followers. Love hearing all of Bomer’s advice, and the inspiration!
We love her book, but missed this session. Thank you for sharing. I couldn’t agree more with this line: “In order to discover what we think, what we know, what we are passionate about, we need to be real in our essays, in our blog posts, with our students.”
Thank you
Clare
My favorite session – I walked away with a heart full of essay longing.
I began to use Katherine’ book during a summer inservice. It’s not a surprise to me that there’s life beyond the formulaic essay. I love the way that she invites us into the true process of writing in reality. LOVE!!!!
Writers hold the paintbrush. I LOVE that quote! I was so sorry to miss NCTE this year. I had to cancel at the last minute due to family emergencies. From all I’ve read, it sounds like it was an amazing time (although you can’t go wrong at NCTE). I’ve heard so many good things about this book, but haven’t had the chance to read it yet. Sounds like I need to add this to my list. J
I was looking for you. I didn’t know you cancelled. I’d love to get caught up on your family. Looks like quite an adventure you are having.
It’s so easy, really, to teach a structure that will meet the standards as they are written, but it’s so much more rewarding when we teach students to think and discover as they develop an essay. Thanks for sharing the learning coming out of that session!
Beautiful post Margaret. You captured the essence of the session.
There is so much to hold onto here: being real in our writing and trusting “this process of discovery.” I especially love the idea that in essays we circle “around an idea” and unwind our thinking. Thank you for sharing your reflections on this session, Margaret, and for always encouraging me to trust myself.
Just thinking about sharing yourself on the page, opening up your thinking, makes the risk feel real. Sharing yourself fearlessly sounds like an important life lesson, especially these days.