This is a pretty short essay (only three solid pages in the anthology), but I am still having a rediculously hard time trying to pick out one sentence that really struck me. I guess I can go with a couple of lines from the conclusion, because here Merrill brings home his point of the whole essay:
"My travels in Bosnia had only begun, and I would have to read hundreds of books of history, politics, and literature in order to better understand what I had experienced in these various war zones. But I had glimpsed a way to write the book."
I guess when you're living this experience, for Merrill it was living in the middle of war-torn Bosnia, it's difficult to see past the horror of what is going on around you and try to orginize your thoughts on writing about it. Maybe it seems too overwhelming. So, I guess what we can learn from reading this essay is the fact that developing creative nonfiction about difficult issues isn't just going to write itself--it's not going to come easily--we're going to have to coax it out of our experiences and our thoughts. And maybe a little bit of distance will help us to do this.
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