Donald Morrill Reading
Donald Morrill reads a selection from his memoir entitled The Untouched Minutes. Morrill briefly explains the book, pointing out that it is based on a home intrusion that he and his wife experienced in the middle of the night in 2001. Morrill explains that the book is written in both 1st and 3rd person; the 3rd person sections concern world events and their relation to the intrusion.
During a question and answer session, Morrill discusses “Gregory”, the fictional name that Morrill’s wife gave to the intruder. When asked if Morrill has forgiven “Gregory” for his crime, Morrill replies that “forgiveness requires a huge amount of effort—a huge psychic investment.” He also goes on to compare and contrast the ways that he and his wife have dealt with the event, claiming that “there are very distinct differences in the way that genders respond to these situations.”
When asked why Morrill chose to write about such a traumatic event, he responds, “Writers have the belief that writing can give you control over situations.” He does point out, however, that the personal essay aspect of the book seemed “self-indulgent,” and thus chose to add the 3rd person sections to the book. He explains that this allowed for both “outside and inside views, kind of like a Möbius strip.”
Morrill goes on to discuss his other nonfiction titles, specifically an “immerision journalism” piece written about a group of “abandoned” adolescents that he worked with for a year. Morrill ends by pondering how a writer deals with such emotional material as his home invasion. He points out that it is important for the writer to take a step back and “think aesthetically,” with the understanding that “writing about an event is not the same as living it.”
In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Nonfiction
Authors: Donald Morrill
Date Recorded: April 01, 2004
Works Read: The Untouched Minutes by Donald Morrill
Program: Live From Prairie Lights
Format: reading
Contributors: Introduction by host Julie Englander.
Topics: memoir, personal essay, nonfiction, home intrusion, trauma