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Oscars she was poised and impeccable and even kind of smart and
funny, but no one laughed at her jokes. When earthy Jennifer
Lawrence tripped on her way to the podium, and then made a
crack about it, everyone loved her.
That's what I realized was missing in the medical student's essay.
He was too much Anne Hathaway and not enough Jennifer
Lawrence. He was trying so hard to appear perfect and
accomplished that all we saw was the effort and the desire to cover
something up. Maybe that's what "writing with soul" isfalling
over on your unaccustomed high heels on your way to being
recognized for your accomplishment, and then laughing about it
and accusing the audience of applauding only because they feel
sorry for you. No one will ever feel sorry for someone brave
enough to say something like that. It was, in that moment,
impossible not to love Jennifer Lawrence.
There may not be much call to write with soul in many types of
scholarly work. And bravery in academic writing may not be
rewarded with a standing ovation; it may, in fact, cause some
trouble. The personal essay may not "count" on an academic CV.
But acquiring the skills required to write with soullearning to be
honest and vulnerable on the page so that the reader sees not an
author but a person, will help you find more readers, make you a
better writer whatever the genre, and may even help you discover
bits of your own well-armored soul.
Rachel Toor is an associate professor of creative writing at Eastern
Washington University's writing program in Spokane. Her Web site
is http://www.racheltoor.com. She welcomes comments and
questions directed to careers@chronicle.com.
29Comments
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curioser
10monthsago
Ihaveoftenimagined(fantasized?)thattheonlyjobsinacademe
wheremuchofthereadingisroutinelyenjoyablearethosein
departmentsofEnglishorliterature(ofanylanguage).Sure,
professorsstillneedtoreadscholarshiponthoseworksof
literature;buteventhesecondarysourcesinEnglishandliterature
seembetterwrittenthanthoseinmanyotherfields.Isthereason
perhapsbecausetheauthorsare(orshouldbe)absorbedinworks
ofliterature,whichare(or,again,shouldthemselvesbe)well
written?Whileworkingonmydissertation(inoneofthosetypically
dry,boringprofessionalfields),Ifrequentlypickedupworksof
dry,boringprofessionalfields),Ifrequentlypickedupworksof
literatureorwellwrittenpiecesofnonfiction(oftenessays)to
remindmyselfhowI*should*beaspiringtowrite,evenwithinthe
confinesofadissertation.(Style"soul"ispossibleina
dissertation,evenifrelegatedtofootnotes,theprefaceor
introduction,theacknowledgments,theauthor'sbiography....)
8
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nematoda
10monthsago
IadmitthatIgenerallywritewithnosoul,butIguessthat'swhy
I'mapoorlypaidprofessorratherthanamultimilliondollar
earning,awardwinning,bestsellingauthor.
Ifinditironic,though,whenIreadselfimprovementessayssuch
asthis:wearetoldtowritesothat"thereaderseesnotanauthor
butaperson...".Andyet,thisessaydoesn'tgivemeanysenseof
whoRachelToorisasaperson.Evenmore,Toorcomesacrossas
an"AnneHathaway"ratherthana"JenniferLawrence"inthis
piece,asshecriticizesthepoormedicalstudentfornotknowing
whatsheknows.There'snovulnerability,justoverweeningself
assurance.
Yes,IknowambeingunfairtoToorI'msureshewritewithagreat
dealofsoulinothervenues.But,Iwouldhavelikedtoseeher
practicewhatshepreachesinthisveryarticle.
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maw57
nematoda 10monthsago
Idisagree:thisseemstomeaquitepersonableessay,inpart
owingtotheAnneHathawaycomparison,inpartowingtoher
confessionofhavingbeenshaped/distortedbyherownelite
education.
ButI'dbeinterestedinhearfromothersabout"soulful"
writersintheirowndisciplines.Fromlitcrit,Iwould
nominateoneoldschoolguy,IanWatt(moreinhisConrad
bookthaninTheRiseoftheNovel),andonecontemporary,
RitaFelski(e.g.,inTheUsesofLiterature).
Nominees?
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11182967
nematoda 10monthsago
Aw,c'monthisisanothernicelittleToordeforce,fullof
personaltouches.Yes,it'spolished,likemostofToor's
essaysfullofavarietyofillustrativedetail,bothhigh
(Montaigne,AddisonandSteele...)andlow(Hathawayand
Lawrence),withpersonalreferencestopastandcurrent
careers.But"soul"doesn'thavetobeboldlydramatic,andI
don'treadRachelToorlookingforpassionboilingover.
Rather,sheisconsistentlycalm(andonlyjustpeeved,when
not),helpfultowritersinthebestsortofeditorialway(she
reallydoescareaboutthem),andalwaysalittlebitfunny.
Thesequalitiesseemtobeher"soul,"lessexcitingthanthe
soulsofsomeothers,certainly,butpleasantandcomfortable
andobviouslyherown.Souls,likebodies,excitedifferent
responseswhenbaredevenpassionisboringif
unrelenting.Bethankfulthattheequilibriumisasenjoyable
asthepunctuation.
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racheltoor
11182967 10monthsago
Wellthankyou,11182967.AndI'lltakethisasa
challengetoflashalittlemorepassioninfuture
columns.It'sagoodreminder.
2
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edumacator
racheltoor 10monthsago
[Takei]Racheljustpromisedtoflashus.Oh,
myyy...[/Takei]
3
rick1952
Reply Share
edumacator 10monthsago
Well,ifshedoes,sherunstheriskofrunning
afoulofthejointDoEOCR/DOJguidelines
providedtoUofMontanaasa"blueprint"forthe
restofusregardingsexualharassment:)(see
HansBader'scommentaryelsewhereinthis
week'sChronicle.)
Seriously,Ithinkflashingalittlepassionisgood
thing,eveninspirationalattimes.Agoodeditor
ofanationalpublicationhelpedmeseehowthat
couldhelpinanessaywhichIwroteabouta
SupremeCourtjustice.
1
fiona
Reply Share
10monthsago
Thisisagreatarticle.Iwouldsay"soul"is(assoulsingerssay)
theprojectionoffeeling.Academicwritingissupposedtosqueeze
outfeeling,anditusuallysucceeds.
RetheAnneHathawaycomment:Beyoncestrikesmethesameway.
Beautifulandperfect,butnohumanzest.
Writingwithsoulconveysmessinessandspontaneityandyou
havetoworkreallyhardtodothatwell.
8
vceross
Reply Share
10monthsago
Ithinkthisisthesortofdeclamationoneoftenhearsfromcreative
writersandjournalists,whoinsistthateveryonemustwritelike
them.Theydonotunderstandthattheiraestheticisonly
applicabletotheirparticulargenresofwriting.Scholarsarenot
writingtoentertain,provoke,ortitillate.Theyarecontributingto
thedefinition,understandingorsolutionofaparticularproblem.
That"jargon"isshorthanditallowsustogetquicklyfrompointA
topointB.Amedicalresearcherwouldbefoolishtospendher
nightsrevisingandrevising,lookingforthebonmotandattempting
totranslatemoundsofscholarlyknowledgeintoexplanationsand
lovelyoldplotlinesguaranteedtoenthrallanonspecialist
audience.Ourarticleswouldbehundredsofpageslongandother
specialistswouldhavetoplowthroughallthatnonsensetogetto
whattheyneeded.
Putincreativenonfictionterms:ataconstructionsite,Imaycall
outforamitersaw.Apasserbymaynotknowwhatoneis:too
bad.I'mnottalkingtohim.Ifhewantstoknowwhatamitersaw
seemore
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Guest
vceross 10monthsago
Sorryvceross...You'reagreatwriterwhichdisqualifiesyou
fromcommentingonthisdiscussion.
10
shakesguy
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vceross 9monthsago
Someofwhatyou'rearguingworksforthesciences,butnot
thehumanities.Weinthehumanitiescan'tjudgeourideas
bysomesortofempiricalstandard.Thetruthofourclaims
dependsmoreonhowconvincingtheyare,andthereis
alwaysthesuspicion,corrosivetocredulity,thatourjargon
ismeredoublespeak,wordswithoutcontent.
Usingthelanguagecanbeamarkerofengagementinthe
conversation,butbeingalwaysselfcritical,alwayswillingto
suspectthatourownwordsmaybeempty,isafarmore
authenticqualificationasacriticalthinker.
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NathanielM.Campbell
10monthsago
ImustobjecttoToor'scritiqueofacademicwriting's
"pretensions",e.g.thelong,periodic,Latinatestyle,fullofskillful
vocabularyandcomplexideas.
Forme,suchawritingstyleispartofmy"soul"asawriterand
thinker,preciselybecausemywritingandthinkinghavesomuch
beeninfluencedbyclassicalandmedievalwritersofLatin
literature,philosophy,andtheology,aswellasbyGerman
literatureandpoetry.Toabandonthe"pretentious"stylethatToor
abhorswouldbe,forme,toabandonthatwhichmakesmywriting
mineratherthanhers,theproductofmyintellectualjourneyrather
thanherwritingworkshop.
Thisarticlestrikesmeasamisguidedattempttodeterminethat
"soulful"writingmustadhere,nottoeachindividualwriter'sactual
soul,buttothecontemporarywritingprofession'sownpretensions
againstearlierandmoreelaborateformsofwrittencommunication.
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kpam1234
NathanielM.Campbell 10monthsago
Thisissowellput.Thankyouforsaying/writingit.Soulful
writingshouldbeasindividualasthesoulwho'swriting.We
eachhaveauniquevoiceanditisashamewhenayoung
writeristoldtosimplyfollowaparticularnorm.
2
cwilli
Reply Share
10monthsago
Iwonderiftherehasbeenanyormuchempiricalinvestigationof
howreadersofdifferenttypesreacttodifferentwriting
techniques;I'veneverheardofany.Insteadthereseemstobealot
ofintuitive,subjectivejudgmentsbywritingteachersaboutwhat
supposedlyconstitutesgoodwriting.Literaturepeoplepraise
writingthatis"essential,authentic,honest,flawed,contradictory,
messy,"butIsuspectthatwhenscientistsreadaresearcharticle
theydon'tgiveadamnaboutsuchthings;theywantclearclaims,
evidence,methodology,objections,limitations,etal.AndwhenI,
asanonscientist,readanarticleaboutcurrentscience,Ifindan
articleladenwithpersonalinformationaboutthescientiststobe
boringandirrelevantIwanttoknowaboutthescience,notthe
scientists.Idon'tliketowadethrough"humaninterest"
introductorygrabbersbeforegettingtotheimportantstuffabout
thestateofthescience.Myinterestisgrabbedbyaninformative
titlenomore"grabbers"needed.
Inshort,howaboutwritingteachersdoingsomewelldesigned,
statisticallyrespectablesurveyresearchtofindouthowdifferent
audiencesreacttovariouskindsofwriting,insteadofjustmaking
subjectivejudgments?
2
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RichardGrayson
10monthsago
PutneysaystheBorman6girlisgottohavesoul!
Reply Share
sand6432
10monthsago
Thereismuchtobesaidforwritingwithsoul,butTooriswiseto
addthecaveatsinherlastparagraphbecause,generallyspeaking,
thiskindofwritingisnotlikelytoearnanycredit,andmayeven
"causesometrouble,"withthosewhowieldthepowerovercareer
advancementintheacademy.Ifascholarispurposelytryingto
reachawidermarketbeyondtheacademywithapieceofwriting,
Tool'sadvicemaybeworthheeding,butitwouldbedangerousto
followitforscholarlywritingthatseeksonlyotherscholarsasits
primaryorperhapssoleaudience.
Thisisnottosaythatoccasionallyascholarwillsucceedinwriting
withsoulandyetbeabletogainarespectfulaudiencebothwithin
academeandbeyond.AnexamplewouldbeAlbertO.Hirschman,a
mastercraftsmanoftheelegantlywrittenessay.Butsuchscholars
arefewandfarbetween,anditwouldberiskyfortoomanypeople
toattempttobecomethenextHirschman.
SandyThatcher(whojustlovesJenniferLawrence,bytheway)
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vceross
sand6432 10monthsago
Hirschmanusednarrative.Journalistsandcreative
nonfictioniststhinknarrativeisthecat'spajamas.Butin
factnarrativetrapsyouintowritingalimitedsetofplotlines
thatreproduceacertainkindofthinking.Therehavebeen
scholarswhohavedoneinterestingworkonnarrativeand
how,forexample,itconditionsustothinkingintermsof
forcingachangeonothersorourselves(conversion
narrative,narrativesofprogress).Othershaveshownhow
womentendtoplaythebearerofmeaning,ratherthanmaker
ofmeaning,asoccursrighthereinToor'snarrative,where
women'semotionalexpressivityleadthemtobe"good"or
"bad"objects.Wedon'tquestionsuchstorylines.Weeat
themup.Scholarlywork,atleastinsomefields,attemptsas
muchaspossibletoavoidnarrativespreciselybecausethey
organizethingsintidywaysthatexcludeallsortsof
complicatinganddrearyfactors.Hirschmanwasagreat
narrativist.
9
dank48
Reply Share
10monthsago
MyGod,thecommentshere....Theheading"Comments"could
almostbereplacedbyonereading"Q.E.D."
Subjectmatterisnoexcuseforunreadablewriting.
7
gahnett
Reply Share
10monthsago
Tome,writingwithsoulisconnectingwiththeaudience.
Iftheaudienceisperfectandtheyappreciateperfect,there'sno
reasonnottolikeHathaway.
Ontheotherhand,ifnoonelikedher,hercareerwouldbeshort
lived,unlessshedecidestoplaymeancharacters.
Maybethestudentwhowrotethereportjusthadnothingoriginalto
say.
2
withatwist
Reply Share
10monthsago
Ilovethisarticle.WhenIguideastudentthroughadifficultpaper,
Itellthemtotellthestoryofthetopic.Itseemstohelp.Clarityof
ideasseemstocomewithadoptingthetopicasthe
protagonist/antagonistofthestorybeingtoldaboutit.
It'sunfortunate,butinthehumanitiesweseemtoconstantlyrun
intothosewho'vereadfartoomuchJudithButler.OrHomiBhaba.
Or[insertadarlingofcomp.lit.here].Butlercouldn'tevenswitch
registerstodefendherownabsolutelyappalling,inexcusably
obnoxiouswritingstyle:http://query.nytimes.com/gst/f...
And,naturally,ourstudentsgetholdofsomeonelikeButleror
Bhabaandoneoftwothingshappens:1.Theyadoptthe
obnoxious,verbosestyleofthesewriters,withoutunderstanding
howobnoxiousthey'rebecoming,or2.Theyfreakoutandrunaway
screaming,thinkingthatthey'restupidbecausetheycan't
understandsomethingthat,honestly,wasnevermeanttobe
understoodinthefirstplace.Atleastnotasanythingprofound.
understoodinthefirstplace.Atleastnotasanythingprofound.
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dank48
withatwist 9monthsago
Ican'tagreethat"Butlercouldn'tevenswitchregistersto
defendherownabsolutelyappalling,inexcusablyobnoxious
writingstyle."Ithoughtherletterwas,onthewhole,readily
understandable.Thatisquiteaswitchinregister,imo.
1
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withatwist
dank48 9monthsago
Understandabletowhom?I'venevermetanyone
withoutatleastaMAwhoknewwhoAdornowas.
goaway
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withatwist 8monthsago
Righton!
ksurman1
Reply Share
10monthsago
GreatcomparisontotheOscars.LoveSpokane.
1
rahodeb
Reply Share
10monthsago
Ihavejustonethingtosay:anonymouspeerreview."Bigand
strangeideasindirectandforcefulsentences"arethefirstthing
togetslashedfromapaperifitistobepublished.ButIadmirethe
sentimentnonetheless.
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scorpio1711
9monthsago
IquiteendorseToor'ssentiment.
ThoughIwonderifsoulfulwritingHAStobeinterspersedwith
bombasticwords,makingitdifficultforacommonmanto
comprehendit?
Reply Share
ruthenium66
9monthsago
Ieditscholarlypapersineducation,mostofthemhighly
specializedandfullofstatistics.Yet...thesoulofsomewriters
sneaksin,whetherbyanintriguingmetaphor,insightfulanalysisof
existingliterature,orafrankappraisalofthelimitsofthestudy
doneorthetheoryposed.Ihaveafavoriteauthor,whosepapersI
lookforwardtoreadingalthoughIdon'tunderstandthehighly
technicalconceptstheycontain(hewritesforatinycohortof
researchersinhisfield)buthiswritingissolucidthatIknow
exactlywhathappenstoX,evenifIdon'tknowwhatXis.Itisa
pleasuretowatchhimtakeXthroughitspaces.Perhapshisstyle
isnotasdeeplysoulfulorrevelatoryasanessayonadyingpatient
couldbe,butIliketheauthor,whoIhavenevermet,andlook
forwardtoreadingmorebecauseofit.Rethemedstudent
piece...oranyfirstpersonessay...nomatterthesubject,the"salt
andpepper"ofhumorandselfdeprecationalmostalwaysaddto
theflavorofthepiece.Eveninaseriouspiece...perhapsespecially
so.
1
profdave
Reply Share
9monthsago
Ihavehadtowriteinadisciplinethatoverlapstwodistinct
"genres"ofwritingstylelaw.
Therearetwoways(atleast)towriteaboutlawandlegalissues.
Oneisthedry,dispassionate,factsonlystyleofthescholarshipof
law.Theotheristhepassionate,makethereaderfeelthe
rightnessorwrongnessoftheargumentstyleoflegaladvocacy.
IbelieveProf.Toor'sarticleilluminatestheborderareasthatcan
existwithinanyacademicdisciplinewhereanauthorchoosesto
existwithinanyacademicdisciplinewhereanauthorchoosesto
addressaparticularkindofaudienceinordertoaccomplisha
specificpurpose.
Reply Share
shamsuzzaman
8monthsago
SinceI'mdeeplyinvestedincomposition(secondlanguage
writing),Iwastemptedtoreadintotheessayasoneofmyfriends
sentitmyway.Ilikeditinitially,butasIdrilleddeepinto
it,Idiscoveredsomediscrepancies.Thecontentofthewhole
articlecanbeboileddowntothis:It'sapaeantocreativewriting,
andaharangueagainstacademicwriting.I'mattimesledtothe
persuasionthatshehaseithermisperceivedormisinterpretedthe
conventionsandcriteriaofacademicwriting.Worseeven,shedrew
on
herknowledgeaboutandbackgroundincreativewritingtopreach
about
academicwriting.Whatqualifieshertoclaimthatacademicwriting
is
"pretentiousandinflated"andisnotwrittenbyhumanssinceitis
too
"jargonridden,andisconstructedwith"weakverbsand
multisyllabic
Latinatephrases?"Everygenreofwritingisamenabletosome
seemore
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