WidemanÆs Method of Writing

All documentationàis put together by a particular mind whose capacities, interests, values, conjectures, suppositions and presuppositions, whose memories, and, not least, whose talents will come to bear directly or indirectly on what is, finally presented to the world (p. 177).

It is exactly these obstacles and limitations of which John Edgar Wideman is aware and attempts to overcome in the work about his brother Robert entitled Brothers and Keepers. This analysis will explore WidemanÆs text to illustrate the methods and means used by the author to achieve this goal in a portion of Brothers and Keepers in which the voices of John and his brother are woven together, ôOur Time.ö

We see that Cole maintains the difficulty in ôanotherö providing a factual and authentic account of an ôotherö stems primarily from human subjectivity. No author is able to stand apart from his era, life, or experiences as a completely detached observer. In her work, ôProjected Memory,ö Marianne Hirsch discusses the concept of postmemory, something

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spective of a detached observer who authentically provides what is viewed as a biographical account of an ôother.ö To overcome such obstacles, Wideman attempts to create a discursive relationship between him and his brother by using a number of techniques, such as multiple voices. ôIt all started with Gar dyingö his brother tells us through John WidemanÆs (p. 758) recollections. Likewise, we only get a third-person voice from the author, who attempts to share voice, control, and ownership of the story with his brother, Robert. We see in WidemanÆs writing style that he often attempts to structure our account of Robert through the perspectives of others, like RobertÆs friends or family members. In so doing, the author attempts to distance himself as the only voice that is providing authenticity to an account of an ôotherÆsö life. As he tells us of his motherÆs feelings about Robert, ôI donÆt know. I just donÆt know how to reach him. He wonÆt listen. HeÆs doing wrong and he knows it but nothing I say makes any differenceö (Wideman, p. 759). It is up to us to interpret these different voices trying to lend a voice to Robert in an authentic and factual manner. We will never really know if Robert doesnÆt listen to a thing his
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Tradition Fiction, Robert WidemanÆs, Holocaust Hirsch, Marianne Hirsch, Edgar Wideman, John WidemanÆs, Writing Introduction, Body Cole, Brothers Keepers, XXXX Project, edgar wideman, tradition fiction, john edgar, brotherÆs life, john edgar wideman, ôour timeö, memories elseÆs experience, account brotherÆs, difficulties achieving, detached observer, own life, displaced stories, stories displaced stories,
Approximate Word count = 1376
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)