Ah, Jeffersonville

Harry and I were talking about how to write a literature paper. He's always gone with the reliable five-paragraph format: thesis, three supporting points, summation. He's taking his first college literature course, The Harlem Renaissance. His professor told him he needs to ditch the his usual format and be more free-flow. This makes for more interesting writing, but will it make sense?

If you're a writer, you know how to craft a story or essay. It's like building a house, which flows naturally from a blueprint that's embedded in your head. This is the Jack Kerouac approach. Had he had a word processor, he might have built different houses.

I always like fictional writing that has a few warts and blemishes. The structure isn't perfect; some words might be made up (but always understood); there's a seamlessness to the narrative that allows the reader to relax among the words. Creative non-fiction, a favorite genre of mine, just needs to make sense. You don't need a five-paragraph structure to do that. Just make sure that the house you're intending to build isn't a pot of soup.

In Jeffersonville, you can have conversations like this. Harry wrote his essay the way the professor suggested, even though it made him feel uncomfortable. We enjoyed the Fall weather, the house, the food, the company. We stayed for dinner Sunday, which we almost never do. I had a little time to read Infinite Jest (past page 300!), which is most-assuredly a house I enjoy visiting but wouldn't want to live in.