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The Art of Cliff-Dropping

Author(s): Kathryn Bowen

Presentation: oral

The Art of Cliff-Dropping is a creative nonfiction essay that explores why people take recreational risks, a phenomenon that is present in privileged society’s reality TV and sports. Focused on skiing, the essay uses the techniques of memoir to reveal first-person accounts and inner reflection, as well as retold stories, to better understand the emotional/spiritual drive that puts people on the edge. The essay is slightly segmented in structure, which suits the nature of the piece; the slightly broken form reflects my own unresolved puzzle of why I take risks when skiing. By focusing specifically on skiers, their sport, and their subculture, the essay suggests a buried relationship between man and nature that is perhaps hidden by society’s “civilized” detachment from the wild. In doing so, the essay asks the reader to explore her own drives and question what puts her on the edge.

 

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