Just found this great cartoon by Dave Gessner via @CherylStrayed: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Truth in Nonfiction But Were Afraid to Ask: A Bad Advice Cartoon Essay (it’s from March, 2012)
The cartoon, which is thought-provoking and informative, is a response to a recent book (recent as of 2012) by John D’Agata and John Fingal, The Lifespan of a Fact. In his cartoon essay, Gessner reflects on the question,
Is it ever okay to not be entirely accurate/factual/truthful in creative non-fiction?
I don’t have time to write about or reflect on Gessner’s responses to this question right now, but I wanted to archive the source. Here’s his conclusion:
note: Before reading Gessner’s cartoon essay, I was not familiar with D’Agato’s/Fingal’s book. I’ve just requested it from my library and look forward to checking it out.