Navigating Genres Review

After reading Kerry Dirks’ “Navigating Genres”, I have thoroughly enjoyed the ways in which she chooses to communicate a rather ambiguous topic, and I loved that she specified his audience (college students) and geared the conversation towards our understanding and liking. I also liked how Kerry Dirks began her chapter with a long, detailed analogy about country music because it was an interesting introduction that grabbed my attention and helped convey what the passage would be about before jumping right in. Dirks tended to include many detailed examples throughout the passage about scenarios where genres often overlap, are hard to decipher, or make writing difficult. 

As a writer, it was comforting to know that even from her standpoint, genres have a lot of grey area and can be looked at differently depending on the goal of the writer, their audience, the location and so forth. In my writing, I tend to struggle when I have to stick to a certain audience or maintain an overall “mindset” in my work, so her first hand examples were really helpful. When the author mentioned her goal of making the genre awareness more “tangible”, I felt that was an interesting way to put it. Although the physical genre itself cannot be tangible, I liked this analogy because it made me feel as if her goal is for college writers to be able to have a stronger grip/understanding on the situation when we write, which sounds like a positive thing. 

Her personal anecdotes about not knowing exactly what she wanted this piece to sound like or convey was a great addition because it shows how even skilled authors don’t always have a plan or goal when they first begin writing, which kind of reminds me of the comfort I found when reading “Shitty First Drafts.” I find these two pieces to be quite similar in the fact that they preach to struggling college students about the imperfections of literature and help guide and teach us ways that we can figure it out as we go. 

Dirks was not afraid to admit her own struggles and imperfections, which made me feel a lot more at peace with the difficulties that genre navigation truly can bring. In a field where there is so much ambiguity, opinion and blurred lines with rules and “areas” of writing, it has been enjoyable reading about authors (like Kerry Dirks) who write to encourage young writers that although there are many rules, writing is very specific to many situations, it’s truly a unique field, and that it’s okay to ask questions!