notes for lyric essay class

1. I N WR I T I N G T H E L Y R I C E S S A Y
CONTAINERS

2. HYBRIDS & APPROPRIATION
• The metaphor of the “hermit crab” essay is that of
an empty shell that, once occupied by another,
becomes something new.
• As we’ve seen already, the lyric essay to a degree
already “borrows” from other genre forms
(poetry/fiction) to create a new form itself.
• In the subgenre of the hermit crab essay, the writer
appropriates the form to varying degrees: perhaps
just using the shell; perhaps borrowing the particular
vernacular of the form itself; maybe within the essay
itself.

3. CONTENTS
• As with oulipo, using an existing form provides a
constraint that can (should) lead to re-seeing the
material itself.
• Perhaps unlike oulipo, there should be a relationship
between the form and the content; the structure
itself should enhance/change/inform the thematic
and metaphoric significance of the piece itself.
• For example, for those of you who read Lorrie
Moore’s “How to Become a Writer,” which uses the
“how to/self help” model to discuss its topic, the
form itself also provides irony

4. “HOW TO BECOME A WRITER”
• First, try to be something, anything, else. A movie
star/astronaut. A movie star/ missionary. A movie
star/kindergarten teacher. President of the World. Fail
miserably. It is best if you fail at an early age - say, 14. Early,
critical disillusionment is necessary so that at 15 you can write
long haiku sequences about thwarted desire. It is a pond, a
cherry blossom, a wind brushing against sparrow wing leaving
for mountain. Count the syllables. Show it to your mom. She is
tough and practical. She has a son in Vietnam and a husband
who may be having an affair. She believes in wearing brown
because it hides spots. She'll look briefly at your writing then
back up at you with a face blank as a doughnut. She'll say:
''How about emptying the dishwasher?'' Look away. Shove the
forks in the fork drawer. Accidentally break one of the freebie
gas station glasses. This is the required pain and suffering. This is
only for starters.

5. EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL
• Questions for the hermit crab essay:
• Why this form? How does it work with the content?
• What are the external and internal elements of the
content itself and how do they work together?
• Language: again, “lyric” can express itself in a variety of
ways, but should hopefully still make use of some of the
elements of creative nonfiction (and fiction and poetry):
sensory elements, description, alliteration, rhythm,
character, scene?

6. LIFE STORY, DAVID SHIELDS (1996)
• What is the “shell” or received document(s) used for
this piece?
• What is the nature of these fragments?
• How would you describe the accumulation of these
aphorisms, structurally?
• In what way is this piece personal? In what was is it
universal?
• Looking at either language or content, where do
you find internal moments? Where are the external
ones?

7. JOHN MCPHEE, SEARCH FOR MARVIN
GARDENS (1975)
• John Mcphee, considered a pioneer in nonfiction
writing; some refer to his work as “new journalism,”
although he disputes this term.
• Bulk of his work has appeared in The New Yorker (he
began as a reporter for Time Magazine; has been a
staff writer at The New Yorker since the 1960s). At
one point, the New Yorker noted that of McPhee’s
more than 80 magazine articles, all were on
different topics.
• Author of more than 30 books; Winner of the Pulitzer
Prize, National Book Award nominee etc.

8. WHAT FORM DOES MCPHEE USE?

9. AND?
• McPhee generally uses the rules of the game and
the movement around the board, but what other
observations can you offer about the structure of
the essay?
• How does the content of McPhee’s essay work with
his use of Monopoly as the frame? What is the piece
about?
• What are the internal and external elements?
• What other techniques are in play in this piece?

10. JOAN DIDION, THE WHITE ALBUM, 1979
• “The White Album” (the other name for The Beatles’
ninth album, also known as “The Beatles”)
• Begins with “We tell ourselves stories to live.” Ends with:
“…writing has not yet helped me to see what it means.”
• What happens in between?
• What do we learn about this essay’s form from these
opening thoughts:
• “We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the
imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images, by
the ‘ideas’ with which we have learned to freeze the
shifting phantasmagoria which is our actual
experience.”

11. IS THIS A HERMIT CRAB ESSAY?
• A. Yes because…
• B. No because…
• C. Kind of because…
• Take a minute and pick an answer and write a
sentence or two…

12. THE COLLAGE ESSAY
• Appropriates a visual form: the collage, which
assembles disparate images (in this case, perhaps,
vignettes) into a whole that is integrated by theme.
• Assignment: take the section assigned to you, and
consider what story it tells.
• Does the section itself “appropriate” other
materials, found items, false documents?
• If you had to say in one word or one sentence your
section’s theme or meaning, what would it be?
• Remember: look up anything you don’t understand.

13. INTERROGATING THE ESSAY
• How does “The White Album” address some of the
key narrative questions regarding not just the hermit
crab format, but lyric essay in general?
• How does the form relate to the content?
• What is this essay about?

14. HERMIT CRAB GENERATION
• Horoscope
• How to
• Field Guide
• Crossword Puzzle
• Recipe
• Google Map
• Ebay
• FAQs
• Doctor’s notes
• Nursery rhymes
• To do list
• Instagram feed
• Road atlasmovie poster tagline
• Headlines
• Wordpress tumbler
• Things customers say in retail
• Directions
• Album song list
• A letter to yourself
• A list of favorite historical events
• Using characters from a show
• Life of a sweater
• Facebook
• Corn Maze
• The 12 Steps
• Text messages
• Table of contents
• Itinerary of tourist/local
destinations
• back of deodorant box
• Car’s pink slip
• Business conference
call
• Real estate ad
• Personal ad
• Day planner
• Course description