I could not ignore the coverage of Sept. 11. It was compelling, mournful, abundant. I offer up a few articles:
1. On a Haunted Shore, a Struggle to Let Go: This is an outstanding feature piece. Often times we do not dig deep enough or focus the scope of our features enough to really profile a slice of life. What can we learn from this piece? What makes it compelling? How does the author focus the piece yet make it relatable and accessible?
2. Why Ground Zero Is Perfect Just as it is Now: What stood out in this piece for me was the sentence structure. Anderson is crafty and so adept at using a variety of sentence patterns to really draw attention to the content he trying to convey. Pick out a favorite sentence or two and tell me why they matter?
3. Can We Forgive: A great piece on forgiveness. Also a stellar example of a commentary that uses an anecdote to tell the story, along with some opinion. What are your thoughts on the content? Is there an MA story in here somewhere?
2 comments:
The author focuses this piece into a small town that was affected largely by 9/11. The article is compelling and interesting because this small town of Breezy Point was affected more than NYC itself, proportionally. Even though this weighs distant to the reader, the author still makes it relatable by including the mixed feelings of the people of the community. Some say that memories of 9/11 are depressing and the community should move on. Others devote their lives to charity and encourage mourning and remembering of the event. These very different reactions extend a connection to the reader. Maybe the reader has or had a similar situation in which they had to choose whether to remember or move on. In addition, opening the article with something familiar- the barbecue- brings the article home. This town is a place not very different from many places in the US.
I think this piece is amazingly done because it focuses on one town and how they were affected in 9/11. Because the town is small, the impact seems great. It is very compelling because it profiles several people and their views on 9/11. One profile even includes a muslim living in the town. It focuses in on the scared energy around him during 9/11 and the controversial talk. Many can relate to unjust fear and racism that has developed for the muslim community like in airports or even just on the street. Instead of gerneralizing the author really digs deep into the people's lives and the reader realizes just how badly some people were hit.
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