Here’s a practical question: How does a writer go about deciding what “form” to use? Sure, one answer is: its determined by the genre. But there’s a lot of wiggle room within a genre. The choice of genre doesn’t prescribe exactly the form.Kenneth Burke said that form is “the creation of an appetite in the mind of an audience and the satisfying of the appetite.” Burke was a mid-century independent American scholar who wrote rhetorical theory in a series of really interesting books. He’s one of my heroes.
I like Burke’s definition because while it is audience-focused it also gives a green light to a writer to be creative. The author CREATES desire, an appetite, in the mind of the reader.
How do you think Mohsin Hamid creates “appetite” in his audience’s mind? First you will need to know who his audience is. Who reads the National Geographic? [Hint: it’s not WSJ (Wall Street Journal) readers and it’s not people who follow BlackLivesMatter.]
readings:
-we are all immigrants by Mossin Hamid.
WatchWatch: This video (https://youtu.be/pGvguiAM2MU?si=gwnbloFkbs2rXyiT) about Dora Rodriguez’s visit to photographer Tom Kiefer’s studio. Rodriguez (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yorKX5w98) is a Migrants’ rights advocate and Kiefer is a photographer who create civic-minded/activist art.
