One of the more complex and premeditated acts of covert violence during World War II concerns the American surveillance, arrest, and incarceration of thousands of resident Japanese immigrants prior to and upon the outbreak of the Pacific War. While briefly outlining the historical and political context of this mass incarceration, specifically…

In recent years, memoir and the entire genre of creative nonfiction have received some negative publicity and some harsh criticism. Many have dismissed the "fourth genre," as it's called, as a form for the narcissistic and self-involved. Matters certainly are not helped when high-profile writers of memoir are revealed to be frauds and fiction…

Notes that the minor Romantic poet John Clare commands increasing attention at academic conferences, in essay collections, and on college syllabi. Argues the practices that have kept Clare in view have also rendered him partially inaccessible to students, scholars and general readers. Suggests readers are now in possession of the materials with…

Narrates the experiences that the author encountered growing up in his native South Africa. Maintains the omnipresence of poetry and the need to educate the imagination to see and hear poetry everywhere. Considers ways of salvaging the imagination. (HB)

The Kiss, is described as a controversial memoir about father-daughter incest that disturbed the cultural silence in a "well heeled" home. The emotional and psychological terrain of the daughter's experience is discussed.

An exploration of autobiographical form and its relation to the shape of women's lives. (DD)

Relates autobiographically the author's experiences learning to write as an inventor, in the process exemplifying personal writing as a mode to be fostered in composition courses. Argues for a presentation of writing as a constant discovery and construction of knowledge rather than an accumulation of facts. (HB)

Shows how the eagerness to learn and the wealth of experience of senior adults makes a composition course in autobiography particularly effective for such students. (JL)

Defends personal writing in the college classroom against charges that it is informal, exclusively narrative, nonutilitarian, uncritical, and solipsistic. (DD)

A facetious private detective story embroidered with literary interpretation, autobiography, logical positivism, David Hume on personal identity, and "The Happy Hooker." (RL)

Notes that educators must think about the possibilities for using autobiographical narrative ethically and effectively in academic writing and research, and they need to ask how the personal affects writing that is less personal. Considers how regardless of the stance toward the personal, no one can be an informed writer or reader without…

Offers a "definition" of Zitkala Sa as an Indian teacher who, at the turn of the 20th century, challenged and countered educational norms that silenced Indian voices and erased Indian culture. Examines her autobiographical essays, "Impressions of an Indian Childhood,""The School Days of an Indian Girl," and "An…

Examines the nature of humor and jokes. Considers the benefits of humor in public moments. Analyzes aspects of humor that may determine its efficacy. (HB)

Attempts to step outside the debate about personal writing in academic discourse and rework its configurations. Suggests that academics think anew about writing as a place where the personal and the academic, the private and the public, the individual and the institutional, are always inextricably interwoven. (TB)