"Learning to See" written by Samuel Scudder is the first essay I have decided to write a post on. Mr. Scudders essays documents an event in his student days at a collage with a Professor Agassiz. Professor Agassiz insists that before Scudder can get on to other school work, Scudder must study an old preserved fish and describe it. Scudder studies the fish for hours and then days before he is able to satisfy his professor.
The reason I chose this essay to be my first post is because I feel that it shows one of the biggest foundations for the writing of any essay not just creative non-fiction. Samuel Scudders experience with the old fish shows that writers must look at every aspect of their topic to become successful.
For research and analytical papers, this means understanding every aspect of the topic that is being discussed. Really look deep into the issue at hand. This means doing a lot the research. I know that sometimes research papers are painful and the typical student will spend the least amount of time as possible, but in order to be successful, a writer needs to take the time to see.
But what does this mean for creative non-fiction? Scudder learned to see ever detail of that fish that he was forced to look at. In a good creative non-fiction essay, the details need to be there in order that the audience will see what the writer sees. Also, the writer needs to look the event being written about from every angle. This allows the writer themselves to see the importance of their topic.
So, how do we do this? Well, we have to learn to see, just as Samuel Scudder, and while it may not involve looking at rotten fish for hours, we all need to find our own personal way to notice things around us. For some, that simply means just really being awake as we walk around. So the advice of the day, Remember to keep your eyes open.
Until next time.
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