The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting: How a Bunch of Rabble-Rousers, Outsiders, and Ne’er-do-wells Concocted Creative Nonfiction

by Lee Gutkind

An account of the emergence of creative nonfiction, written by the “godfather” of the genre
 
In the 1970s, Lee Gutkind, a leather-clad hippie motorcyclist and former public relations writer, fought his way into the academy. Then he took on his colleagues. His to make creative nonfiction an accepted academic discipline, one as vital as poetry, drama, and fiction. In this book Gutkind tells the true story of how creative nonfiction became a leading genre for both readers and writers.
 
Creative nonfiction—true stories enriched by relevant ideas, insights, and intimacies—offered liberation to writers, allowing them to push their work in freewheeling directions. The genre also opened doors to outsiders—doctors, lawyers, construction workers—who felt they had stories to tell about their lives and experiences.
 
Gutkind documents the evolution of the genre, discussing the lives and work of such practitioners as Joan Didion, Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Rachel Carson, Upton Sinclair, Janet Malcolm, and Vivian Gornick. Gutkind also highlights the ethics of writing creative nonfiction, including how writers handle the distinctions between fact and fiction.
 
Gutkind’s book narrates the story not just of a genre but of the person who brought it to the forefront of the literary and journalistic world.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Journalism, Literature

304 pages, Hardcover

Published January 23, 2024

About the author

Lee Gutkind has been recognized by Vanity Fair as “the godfather behind creative nonfiction.” A prolific writer, he has authored and edited over twenty-five books, and is the founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction, the first and largest literary magazine to publish only narrative nonfiction. Gutkind has received grants, honors, and awards from numerous organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Science Foundation. A man of many talents, Gutkind has been a motorcyclist, medical insider, sports expert, sailor, and college professor. He is currently distinguished writer in residence in the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes at Arizona State University and a professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee Gutkind, known as the Godfather of Creative Nonfiction, tells the inside story of how this genre of writing, unheard of before the 1970s, came to be. Once upon a time “literature” consisted of fiction, poetry, and plays. Nonfiction, including memoirs and essays, was a whole other thing reserved for journalists and other hacks. But there have always been writers whose true stories reached the level of fine art. Gutkind, an avid reader of nonfiction, had begun to notice a trend toward integrating the techniques of fiction into nonfiction, going from pure recitation of facts to stories as engaging as any novel. At the university where he was teaching, he began to push for recognition of what he came to call creative nonfiction. It was an uphill battle trying to establish classes and gain recognition among the literati that nonfiction was a true literary genre. Ultimately, he succeeded. Today colleges offer degrees in creative nonfiction, and literary magazines, including Gutkind’s own Creative Nonfiction, publish creative nonfiction. This book describes the early practitioners of the genre, people like Tom Wolfe and Gay Talese, as well as the many who followed them. We get a lot of Gutkind’s own story interwoven with tales of interactions with famous writers and behind-the-scenes looks at conferences and editorial meetings. As a journalist turned creative nonfiction writer and reader familiar with many of the names dropped here, I find all this fascinating, but other readers might not. That said, if creative nonfiction is your thing, you should read this book.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read a blurb about this book in one of the literary blogs I subscribe to, I thought it would interest a friend of mine, so I put it on hold at the library, intending to skim it and decide whether I'd give it away as a gift. But instead, it totally grabbed me, and I ended up spending much more time with it than I intended. I think I have read a lot of creative nonfiction, mostly unintentionally -- and never really thought about it as a "new" genre. This book tells the story of the emergence of creative nonfiction as an accepted and distinct subgenre, as an alternative, or an extension, of journalism, but which also encompasses memoir, travel writing, and many other types of stories. According to this book (which is quite meta, presenting the story of creative nonfiction in its own form, if you get my meaning), Lee Gutkind almost singlehandedly created this new literary form, commiserating with authors such as Tom Wolfe, John McPhee, and Joan Didion, to create a space for nonfiction writers to bring elements of fiction into their writing, and have it recognized as separate from all those other things. I suppose it could have been called "literary reportage" or something like that at the beginning, since much creative nonfiction seemed to have been concocted via writers actually putting themselves in adventurous situations, especially so they could write about them. Of course, there is a ton of CNF that springs from personal experience that is not quite so manufactured as well, but the origins, of writers immersing themselves in experiences and then writing about it, seems to reflect its roots in journalism. I feel like radio programs like "This American Life" and all the podcasts that have taken inspiration from it, also represent a form of creative nonfiction, though produced in radio form -- many of those stories could be eminently readable, should someone choose to do that. Anyway it's an area of literature I have always enjoyed, and learning about its origins and evolution was entertaining and eye-opening.

[Emily F · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't super sure how to rate this. I picked it up because I was interested in starting to write essays and wanted to learn more about the genre and what it entails. I had come across his Creative Nonfiction magazine online and wanted to read more. The history presented in this was fascinating and I enjoyed his life story, but about half way through...I really started questioning things.

The author points out the publishers don't or didn't fact check creative nonfiction pieces. Then proceeds to point out various times famous CNF writers were either complete frauds or stretched the truth to such a degree that they made scenes up for the narrative. So then every time he told a story, i thought to myself "was this sensationalized? Did this actually happen? What is fact here and what is creative liberty?" And for a nonfiction book, that was a bit unpleasant. I wish he would have addressed that more in the book, especially during such a time where information sharing/journalism/and nonfiction as a whole are as untrusted as they currently are. He definitely tried to, but it didn't feel sufficient to me.

Ultimately, while an intriguing read, I'm less sure about how I feel on exploring this genre then I was before. I also have questions about its role in the deterioration of trustworthy, fact-based journalism (that is continually regarded as subpar throught the book, but sorely needed right now.)

so I gave this three stars because I really just don't know what to do with the information it presented to me. It did however have a good list of authors to explore that he didn't call out for basically lying. I appreciated that jumping off point and will use it to explore more.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting: How a Bunch of Rabble-Rousers, Outsiders, and Ne'er-do-wells Concocted Creative Nonfiction, turned out to be a surprising book to me. I checked it out of the library out of curiosity, and then got entranced by the author's well-written stories of the writers he knew and interacted with in the process of promoting creative nonfiction, and getting it recognized as a specific genre of literature, long after fiction, poetry, and drama were well established. Dozens of writers are mentioned with wonderful anecdotes of their lives and work. This is definitely a great book to read if you are interested in creative nonfiction, or writing in general. Oct, 2024

[Milla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a really interesting modern history of the writing genre, Creative Nonfiction. The beginning is more helpful and applicable for actually improving one's writing craft, but even the parts of the book that talk about the behind-the-scenes of the writing world are also useful for knowing where this genre sits in the grand scheme of things and how far we can bend our writing and have it still fit.

[Jeremy Jl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The origins and evolution of the genre from the man often credited as being its 'godfather'. A true story very well told.

[Jenna Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for anybody working in the genre of creative nonfiction. I love learning about the weird histories of literary movements!

[William Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

●Very informative with detailed history, but neatly divided into brief and manageable chapters. I am being introduced to a literary world of which I knew nothing.
● The book itself also represents the genre in question.
● It is perhaps rather about determination and tentativeness held together in tension, detectable on the cover design.
● What is a "crack profile writer"? (P. 178)
● This is also a nice presentation of about a hundred authors whose books are worth to explore.
● Best to read with online access to check these authors' works

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was mostly reflections on a life as an academic who championed creative nonfiction (So nonfiction that reads like fiction..I think. Don't quote me on that.) back when it still had a "low class" rep among academics. The tide turned quickly though and creative nonfiction is quite popular these days. He talks about various big names in the field and how he knew most of them before they were famous. Was an interesting read, I didn't know how biased against nonfiction academics used to be and how things started changing through programs at different schools.

[🌸 m a r i a 🌸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the historical overview a ton in the first part of the book, but the rest really could have been cut down significantly. This reads more like a memoir of this specific guy rather than a true history of the genre, which was what I really wanted. It’s a bit cringe too, especially the parts where he keeps going on and on about how he’s such a rebel, but then casually starts talking about his summer home lol.

[Miranda Vilar Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun memoir chronicling the rise of creative nonfiction by one of its champions.