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"Remembering Sarah":
Reading and Crafting Nonfiction with Ohio Author Joe Mackall
On January 12, Joe Mackall of Ashland University gave an invited reading from his latest book Plain Secrets: an Outsider among the Amish. Mackall began with a short talk about the craft of writing nonfiction, drawing on his extensive experience writing in the genre and as the editor for the journal he founded, River Teeth, as well as the several writing contests he has served as a judge for. Drawing on examples from his own work and that of other nonfiction writers, he discussed the importance of being guided by actual events, emphasizing that this marks the difference between fiction and nonfiction writing. Mackall characterized the method he uses in Plain Secrets as immersion journalism, using extensive observation to craft a representation of real-life subject matter.
In light of the personal connections that writers develop when doing immersion journalism, Mackall reminded developing writers of the importance of adhering to the rigorous ethical standards qualitative researchers use. He advocated the importance of respecting the privacy and wishes of the informants who grant writers access to their lives, enabling them to conduct the research that underpins immersion journalism-based nonfiction. The excerpt of Plain Secrets which Mackall read-from a chapter called "Remembering Sarah"-reflects back on a daughter of the Amish family Mackall's book focuses on, embedding this recollection within the description of a day Mackall spent working on the family's farm.
Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among the Amish, Joe Mackall. 208 pages. Beacon Press, 2007; $13.
