
Bureau of Missing Persons
Writing the Secret Lives of Fathers
Roger J. Porter(Author)
Cornell University Press
Published on 6. May 2011
216 pages
978-0-8014-6144-6 (ISBN)
System requirements
for ePUB without DRM
E-Book Single Licence
You are acquiring a single user licence for this eBook, which you might not transfer. [L]
Available for download
Description
Alles über E-Books | Antworten auf Fragen rund um E-Books, Kopierschutz und Dateiformate finden Sie in unserem Info- & Hilfebereich.
A devoted reader of autobiographies and memoirs, Roger J. Porter has observed in recent years a surprising number of memoirs by adult children whose fathers have led secret lives. Some of the fathers had second families; some had secret religious lives; others have been criminals, liars, or con men. Struck by the intensely human drama of secrecy and deception played out for all to see, Porter explores the phenomenon in great depth. In Bureau of Missing Persons he examines a large number of these works-eighteen in all-placing them in a wide literary and cultural context and considering the ethical quandaries writers face when they reveal secrets so long and closely held.
Among the books Porter treats are Paul Auster's The Invention of Solitude, Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir Fun Home, Essie Mae Washington-Williams's Dear Senator (on her father, Strom Thurmond), Bliss Broyard's One Drop, Mary Gordon's The Shadow Man, and Geoffrey Wolff's The Duke of Deception. He also discusses Nathaniel Kahn's documentary film, My Architect. These narratives inevitably look inward to the writer as well as outward to the parent. The autobiographical children are compelled, if not consumed, by a desire to know. They become detectives, piecing together clues to fill memory voids, assembling material and archival evidence, public and private documents, letters, photographs, and iconic physical objects to track down the parent.
Among the books Porter treats are Paul Auster's The Invention of Solitude, Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir Fun Home, Essie Mae Washington-Williams's Dear Senator (on her father, Strom Thurmond), Bliss Broyard's One Drop, Mary Gordon's The Shadow Man, and Geoffrey Wolff's The Duke of Deception. He also discusses Nathaniel Kahn's documentary film, My Architect. These narratives inevitably look inward to the writer as well as outward to the parent. The autobiographical children are compelled, if not consumed, by a desire to know. They become detectives, piecing together clues to fill memory voids, assembling material and archival evidence, public and private documents, letters, photographs, and iconic physical objects to track down the parent.
Reviews / Votes
A compelling close reading of eighteen memoirs, all of which, Porter finds, struggle with the problem of narrative voice and agency in the context of auto/biography. Structurally, Porter's book is methodical, with each text given the same treatment: a thesis that connects the text to the chapter's theme; an introduction to the text; the methods or levels of detective work involved in the writer's search; the attitude with which the text seems to be written-vengeful, understanding, judgmental, self-reflective; a comparator text; and an interrogation into whether the text's success in finding parent or self.- Teresa Coronado (Rocky Mountain Review) Detective stories are everywhere: as many critics have claimed, most novels, at least since Bleak House, bear traces of detective fiction. If this is true of novels, Porter's fascinating book argues that it is also the case for literary memoirs-where the mysteries and people investigated are particularly close to home.
- Jonathan Taylor (Times Literary Supplement)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ithaca
United States
Product notice
Reflowable
ISBN-13
978-0-8014-6144-6 (9780801461446)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
05/2011
Cornell University Press
€53.32
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Roger J. Porter is Professor of English at Reed College. He is the author most recently of Self-Same Songs: Autobiographical Performances and Reflections.
Content
Introduction: The Child's Book of Parental Deception1. Faith-Changing for Life
The Wounds of Memory: Shame and Discovery in the Kurzem Family
Into the Belly of the Beast: Counterfeiting Identity for Survival
Probing Secret Conversions: Helen Fremont's Anguished Inquisition2. Deciphering Enigma Codes
Shadowing the Furtive Father Beyond the Grave: Mary Gordon's Ambivalent Inquiry
"Love Is No Detective": Germaine Greer's Guilty Hunt
Family on the Lam: A Son Running After Secrets
A Scavenger in the Archives: The "Memory Boy" Tracks His Parents
The Naked Lady's Face and the Detective's Effacement3. The Men Who Were Not There
Sleuthing Amidst the Shards of the Past: Tracking Absence in the Austers
The Letters and the Flag: Recuperating a Lost Father
Speaking Him into the World: A Daughter Reenters Her Father's History
A Father Gone Missing: Documenting a Broken Bond4. Becoming One's Parent
The Limits of Privacy: Decorum and Exposure at the Ackerley's
"Lies Like Contagious Diseases": The Secrets of the Duke and His Son
Imagining Himself in the Paternal Matrix
Shared Secrets in the Fun House5. Breaking the Silence
Race, Secrecy, and Discovery: Black on White, White on BlackConclusion: Freedom or Exploitation?Bibliography
Index
The Wounds of Memory: Shame and Discovery in the Kurzem Family
Into the Belly of the Beast: Counterfeiting Identity for Survival
Probing Secret Conversions: Helen Fremont's Anguished Inquisition2. Deciphering Enigma Codes
Shadowing the Furtive Father Beyond the Grave: Mary Gordon's Ambivalent Inquiry
"Love Is No Detective": Germaine Greer's Guilty Hunt
Family on the Lam: A Son Running After Secrets
A Scavenger in the Archives: The "Memory Boy" Tracks His Parents
The Naked Lady's Face and the Detective's Effacement3. The Men Who Were Not There
Sleuthing Amidst the Shards of the Past: Tracking Absence in the Austers
The Letters and the Flag: Recuperating a Lost Father
Speaking Him into the World: A Daughter Reenters Her Father's History
A Father Gone Missing: Documenting a Broken Bond4. Becoming One's Parent
The Limits of Privacy: Decorum and Exposure at the Ackerley's
"Lies Like Contagious Diseases": The Secrets of the Duke and His Son
Imagining Himself in the Paternal Matrix
Shared Secrets in the Fun House5. Breaking the Silence
Race, Secrecy, and Discovery: Black on White, White on BlackConclusion: Freedom or Exploitation?Bibliography
Index
System requirements
File format: ePUB
Copy protection: without DRM (Digital Rights Management)
System requirements:
- Computer (Windows; MacOS X; Linux): Use a reader that can handle the file format ePUB, such as Adobe Digital Editions or FBReader – both free (see eBook Help).
- Tablet/Smartphone (Android; iOS): Install the free app Adobe Digital Editions or the app PocketBook (see eBook Help).
- E-reader: Bookeen, Kobo, Pocketbook, Sony, Tolino and many more (not Kindle).
The file format ePUB works well for novels and non-fiction books – i.e., 'flowing' text without complex layout. On an e-reader or smartphone, line and page breaks automatically adjust to fit the small displays.
This eBook does not use copy protection or Digital Rights Management
For more information, see our eBook Help page.