Paleolithic caves around the globe bear human handprints, evidence of the human determination to leave a mark. From the Karawari rock shelters of Papua New Guinea to the Chauvet caves in France, going back forty thousand years, people have left handprints in improbable locations deep in the earth as a way to say, “I was here.”
HANDPRINTS is an anthology of creative nonfiction by a diverse group of young artists from Cornish College of the Arts who gathered in Spring 2018 to explore the art of telling true stories. They read work by a variety of contemporary nonfiction writers—Jonathan Lethem, Claudia Rankine, and Dinty W. Moore, to name a few—while keeping reading journals and discussing how the readings relate to their own lives. Discussions were lively, exploring the value of truth, the nature of memory, and the significance of the stories that we hear and tell. Meanwhile, students made their own forays into writing creative nonfiction, guided by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola’s excellent book, TELL IT SLANT. They developed burning questions, searched the library, scoured the internet, interviewed friends and strangers, weighed evidence, brainstormed, exchanged ideas, and criticized and supported each other through the painstaking process of writing.
The result of that work is the book you hold in your hands. In it, you’ll learn about the curiosity that drives these young people, their keen intellects and generous hearts, the challenges they face in a world that can sometimes be hostile and oppressive, and the resilience that keeps them moving forward. You’ll witness startling honesty as these artists share the way they see the world, right here, right now. And you’ll hear 18 voices firmly insisting, “I am here.” Listen.