Lina Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas and Dr. Brandie Siegfried, English

When I began my project I intended to conjoin Theodor W. Adorno’s and Györg Lukács’ definitions of the essa—as stated in “The Essay as Form” and “Soul and Form,” respectively—with Susan M. Fitzmaurice’s definition of the epistolary genre to determine if definite essayistic elements found in other forms—specifically Margaret Cavendish’s work—of writing transformed, expanded, redefined, or negated the current conception of the, so called, fourth genre. I assumed that this isolation of “pure essayistic elements” would contribute toward stricter genre boundaries built on a more objective theoretical mesh work through which other pieces of writing could be more easily classified or declassified as “creative nonfiction” or “essays.”

The project was largely inspired on the ongoing genre classification discussion, which is a fiercely controversial topic in the world of creative nonfiction. Unlike fiction, poetry and drama, the matter of cross genre exploration in creative nonfiction has resulted in an explosive and divisive discussion, even to the extent of the negation of the very nomenclature of the genre—many writers opting for the term “essay” over “creative nonfiction,” a definition that according to these writers depends on what it is not rather than what it is, that is not-fiction. A definition that is not only based on a presupposed negation, but also ultimately necessitates a additional “tag” to establish artistic value, creative nonfiction. Thus, considering the infamous James Frye’s debacle and to John D’Agata’s recent reclamation of Rimbaud’s A Season in Hell into the genre (as done so in his latest book The Lost Origins of the Essay,) the matter of a more objective definition seemed to me, at the time, of urgent and vital importance to the burgeoning genre.

It was thus that I conjured up a project that I believed could detract some confusion from the debate. I believed that by using two separate definitions put forth by established literary theorists and “applied” on an author, for the most part untouched by the muddled debate, I could reach some sort of conclusion, distill at least one particular element that was purely essayistic. In order to complete this project I researched the history of the essay (and creative nonfiction) extensively, reading the entirety of the work by the “The Father of the Essay” Michel de Montaigne, and a vast amount of those influenced directly and indirectly by him. A list which ultimately consisted of a very broad array of writers and thinkers including William Shakespeare, Alexander Smith, G.K. Chesterton, Thomas De Quincey, T.S. Eliot, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Duchess of Newcastle herself. Half of my research was conducted in Utah, the other half in multiple locations in Washington D.C. which Included the Library of Congress and The Folger Shakespeare Library. I should also add that as a result of this initial project I have since become involved in the transcription and preparation of a Cavendish volume of Poems or, Several Fancies In Verse with the Parliament of Animals In Prose, to be published in the near future, as well as becoming the webmaster for the International Margaret Cavendish Society Website (www.internationalmargaretcavendishsociety.org).

Although I ultimately found that: (1) the actual applications of a set definition are not as practical as I had originally hoped—the history of genre itself being a practical crutch, originally establish for the ease of editors and the arrangement of books, thus the applicability for writers is inherently limited—and (2) finding that “purely essayistic” elements as a foundation for a definition is a fundamentally flawed scheme—as a truly scientific model would require a mass sampling of already established “pure” samples (a paradoxically impossible feat). Notwithstanding these findings, viewing Cavendish’s epistles as Adornian and/or Montaignen explorations does enable the reader to engage with the text in a way the epistles themselves have generally not been engaged with previously. Furthermore, in failing to constitute a more solid definitive essay framework the project itself lead me to the consideration that even the less debated genres are not as definitely defined as they would first appear. If “fiction” was a solidly defined mass then that implied “nonfiction” negation would necessarily be a clearer definition. That is to say that, fiction as defined by fabrication, for example, must be defined by what is not fabricated first, and if creative nonfiction refuses a firm definition because it shares too many elements with, in this case, fiction, then that definition must also be fluid and malleable. This last concept become particularly interesting in the case of Cavendish’s writing as she herself is often regarded as the first Science Fiction English author. Essays and Science Fiction blending so naturally in a single author is of significant interest to a discussion of exclusionism in genre definitions.

I am now in the University of Iowa completing a Master’s in Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction, arguably the best institution in creative writing and related studies in the nation. During my first semester here the matter of genre was brought up at the very least once a week in class, and multiple times in social gatherings. This previous in depth study of the implications and applications of various genre definitions was invaluable to me in order to effectively engage in these discussions. In addition, understanding the complications of definition has not merely shaped the manner in which I engage with others’ writings, but also, restructured the way in which I think and write about the impulse of definition. Although my research lead me to a very different conclusion than I had originally anticipated, and I’m still in the process of restructuring it, I still intend to submit the end result to the International Margaret Cavendish Association Conference this year, and submit a second creative essay derived from this project to the creative nonfiction journal 4th Genre, which I expect will constitute an important part of my Master’s Thesis project.