Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard: Narrative Digest

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Author Interview

Paula Bock

A Land of War, a Journey of the Heart

Seattle Times

Author Comments on "A Land of War, a Journey of the Heart" :

Q:	What can the first person contribute to works of journalism? In particular, what do you believe it contributed to your piece "A Land of War, a Journey of the Heart"?
A:	First-person stories are intimate. It's as if you're setting your chair close, leaning in, murmuring friend-to-friend rather than being a "Journalist Informing the Readers." A personal tale (as opposed to simply using "I" here and there) lets readers know you're involved and have biases, emotions, quirks. The story needs to stand up to the usual ethical and accuracy standards, of course, but you don't have to repress so much of your human side. Often, readers really appreciate that honesty. I used first-person in the Orchid Girls piece because I had no other choice. The story began while I was taking a one-year leave from The Seattle Times, volunteering in a refugee clinic on the Thai-Burma border. During my leave, I purposefully didn't do any journalism because I wanted to make friends and experience life free of the journalistic filter. After I returned to work, the jungle village we'd stayed in fell to the military dictatorship. I felt compelled to go back and write a story. But clearly, I was biased! I was looking for two girls I cared deeply about. I could not pretend to be impartial, so I just had to be me. I think seeing the situation through my eyes also allowed a lot of readers to care about a place and a conflict that's not in the news and very far away from their daily lives.
Q:	How can first person be inappropriately used?
A:	I'd like to make a distinction between a "first-person story" and sprinkling "I" into your stories. The former is a personal tale, told through your eyes. The latter is somebody or something else's story, and you're weighing in for a moment. Use both with great caution and rarely.
Q:	In what ways do you approach using first person so that it is effective?
A:	I rarely use it. I write personal tales only when the story really is about me, my experience, and writing with the first person is the most effective way to tell the story. I try not to sprinkle "I" into other writing because if it's not my story, bumping into "I" can be jarring. Also, I always ask myself, "Does anybody really care what I think about this?" Probably not! There are usually ways to recast the sentence so you can take out the "I" but still get the point across. You can have an intimate tone without using first person. When I do write a personal tale, I try to be really honest and include the emotional stuff. Otherwise what's the point? I also make liberal use of "you," second person. Often that lends the intimacy and informality of first-person without the heavy breath.
Q:	Any other thoughts you think would be useful to reporters, editors and students of narrative journalism?
A:	Keep a personal journal. It's good for your journalism and your soul to write stuff that you know won't be published.

Paula Bock is a staff writer for the Seattle Times Sunday magazine. Her stories take readers to the bedside of a young mom dying of AIDS in Zimbabwe, into the memory of the helicopter door-gunner who helped stop the My Lai massacre and out for a greasy bacon breakfast with Bill Gates's dad.

In 2003, Bock received the Ernie Pyle National Writing Award for human interest writing. Her story about Dr. Cynthia Maung and two orchid girls trapped in Burma's jungle war resulted in ongoing humanitarian aid for refugee children and families. Bock's story about women and AIDS in Africa was honored by the Overseas Press Club, Global Health Council, Best of the West and Asian American Journalists Association, and it was made into a traveling exhibit about women and AIDS.

Bock's work has also been honored by the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, the Society of American Travel Writers, Society of Professional Journalists, Easter Seals, National Sunday Magazine Editors, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the United Nations Association among others. Look for her essay on mission and meaning in journalism, published in "The Values and Craft of American Journalism: Essays from the Poynter Institute."

Bock grew up outside Hartford, Conn., attended public schools, graduated from Harvard University and studied in Taiwan on a Rotary Fellowship. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Tao, and baby daughter, Tia.