1. I found Malcolm Gladwell's views on writing profiles, how he spends more time with the people around the person being profiled than the actual person himself, very interesting. I never thought about doing a profile in this way, but it makes sense. Often you'll learn more about a person through others. What a person says about himself isn't always the most realistic view.
"Literature is not a place for conformists." This phrase in Phillip Lopate's article about personal essays resonated with me. When writing about ourselves, we have to figure out how to make us sound and seem vivid. We're real people, but will still have to have a personality and a voice on the page.
Column writing has always appealed to me because it's often used as a way to express opinions, of which I have plenty. But thinking of a column as a conversation is new to me. Inserting another's opinion or view into your column will only make it stronger, make it a stronger piece of writing. I think it's interesting that Donna Britt strives to do this with every column she writes.
2. I felt disgusted, outraged, disappointed...I just kept thinking, "How was this allowed to happen?". The fact that this man was allowed to walk free, to basically do what he wants, despite the fact that he was on probation, despite his history of violence toward women, toward any creature, is horrifying. I can only imagine the way the father, the author, feels. When I was reading the article, I kept thinking about how he was basically powerless during his daughter's whole ordeal. The fact that this was written in the first person made me connect with the story. It's unbelievable that Kristen's death happened, when it was totally preventable. Had the justice system worked as it is supposed to, she'd still be alive.
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