Sims+AO

Norman Sims: Essence of Writer: John McPhee's Early Training //

Coming into McPhee Country: John McPhee and the Art of Literary Nonfiction // Norman Sims article talks about McPhee’s life, growing up, his influences and why he is so important to journalism and writing. There were a lot of interesting things said about McPhee in this article. For one, the reason why he is able to write about such a diverse range of things is because he himself was involved in many different activities as a child. In terms of writing, his first major venture into this was a New Yorker article he submitted at 18. This article was rejected, but McPhee was already showing signs of promise early on in terms of being a writer. McPhee strikes me as a person who enjoys learning which is evident in what he says about geology. “It was nothing, if not descriptive. It was a metaphor of isocratic adjustments and derided channels, of angular unconformities and shifting divides, of rootless mountains and bitter lakes. (Continued ramble)” McPhee’s enthusiasm in the subject matter and thirst for knowledge can be seen as the propeller that thrusts him into writing these highly detailed articles. From reading this piece my suspicions about McPhee not trying to write to please others was confirmed. I’m now certain McPhee does all of this simply because he likes to and not for other peoples (readers) enjoyment.