State = Author

State by State, a Panoramic Portrait of America, holds a very promising title. At first look, the readers learn that the editors made a vow to dissect each piece of the country, state by state. However, the question is how the book does so. The book could have been a guidebook about all the states, providing statistics, fun facts, and cool places to visit, so visitors could figure out where exactly they want to go. It could’ve been a poetry book, containing artistic descriptions of each place in the U.S. It also might’ve been a sort of biography of each state, informing the readers about each state’s journey. State by State however, is unique in its own way since it is made of fifty personal essays, each written by a different author.

Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey first thought of the idea of State by State back in 2002. They kept in mind that projects like this were done before on a greater scale, such as the Works Progress Administration American Guide series of the Federal Writers’ Project in the 1930s. The WPA State Guides contained vivid and detailed histories of each state with descriptions of every city and town. The format was formal and uniform, comprising essays on the state’s history and culture, along with descriptions of its major cities. Writers would get in their cars and tour the state, gathering information and photographs. However, the editors for State by State wanted to tackle this on a more personal level: they wanted to reach out to the readers in a closer and friendlier way than the WPA by publishing a personal essay about each state.

Personal essays, unlike other analyses and compositions, define the subjects in a completely different way. Personal essays are essays that are based on the author’s opinions, beliefs, background and memory, and can create a writing piece that is unique and persuasive. The essays in State by State mostly view the state through the eyes of a native. This book showed off a different side of America: the feeling, the intangible yet pervasive sense of the state. Most of these personal experiences one is unable to obtain by looking through a guidebook or history book. The readers live and feel the state from the essay, and in the end, discover the authors as well.

In Vermont, Alison Bechdel reveals both herself and the state. This personal essay had style that is creative and original; Vermont is one of the two graphic, or comic strip, essays included within State by State. Bechdel had been keeping a journal from the age of ten and learned to express herself through the collaboration of words and illustrations. The author is able to express her thoughts and opinions, facts, flashbacks, dialogue, and other information through drawings of herself in the mountainous environment. Not only is this appealing to read since she provides illustrations, but at the end of the essay there is a map detailing attractions and activities Vermont offers. Bechdel takes the reader step by step through her reasoning for moving to Vermont; she relocated from the Twin Cities because she wanted to live with a lover, but she stayed, after breaking up, for the place. When explaining why she stayed, she not only reveals Vermont’s appeal, but also her own interests, personality, and struggles.

What makes an essay personal? First off, the memory of the author connecting through to the present helps boost the intimacy of the text and readers, bound as we all are by memory. Alison Bechdel in her personal essay on Vermont, illustrates a flashback in the comic about her grandpa taking her to see a movie: “He took me to see “The Sound of Music” when I was four. It moved us both profoundly. While it evoked memories for him of his Tyrolean childhood, it became a memory for me – my earliest erotic experience.” This is appealing to the readers because they feel as if they’ve tasted a bit of the author’s past, and can feel how it connects to why she’s living in Vermont now, in that she seems to connect to her ancestors. Also she refers back through the 20th century all the way to the Revolutionary War. Both the state’s and Bechdel’s past seem to be interwoven qualitatively; this provides the readers with a mental timeline, which guides them to acknowledge Bechdel as a true Vermonter.

The author is persuasive and clever. “I was confused, of course. I’d fallen in love not with this person, but with this place.”  This reveals who she is and how she was in love with Vermont, rather than the person that brought her there. Also, “What’s so compelling to me about the mountains? Is it that there’s always somewhere to go? Is it the supramundane perspective afforded by a summit? Is it genetics?” The repeated “Is it …” provokes us to learn all the reasons why Bechdel would stay in Vermont. “I always feel a little out of place, but it’s place, of course, that binds me to these people.” This reveals that the reason she remained is that she truly adores the state, viewing it as more than the people there. Through this, the reader can feel as if Vermont is Bechdel and Bechdel is Vermont, since the place is what keeps her lingering: “…our microclimate, our brief spring-times, the particular contours and declivities of our rural, plural habitat.” The readers feel an invisible bonding among the citizens of Vermont, their unique love for their state, and their independence.

In this graphic essay all the words are capitalized. Each of the letters, as if screaming, draws the reader into the context. While the capitalized font expresses more anxiety and confusion when compared to normal lowercase letters, the story seems to be based upon this anxiety and confusion, since Bechdel perhaps discovered more about herself through it? She realized her love for the place, and recognized how it superseded her need for relationships. Indeed, another one of her partners left because she refused to move down into town with her. Bechdel is dedicated to the place and loves its mountain features and great scenery, and she’d rather stay at the isolated mountaintop to enjoy the view rather than move down into town to socialize. “Here at last was the elusive conjunction I had longed for. I was close to nature, but had not left civilization behind.” Vermont provided her with both nature and civilization, which resulted in a great attachment to the place.

After reading through the author’s memories, descriptions of, and reasoning for why she stayed, one can see why she was so driven to write and illustrate this essay. She wanted to create the piece because of the beautiful scenery of the state. Also, she wanted to show how Vermont, in the end, is truly her own best reflection, and a place where she can be herself.  The author is driven by the urge to express her opinion on how Vermont is all about living in the mountains and their captivating scenery, and about separating oneself from most social communication.

The overall impact for the readers is that Vermont is the best of both worlds – you can enjoy nature while you can go to town and be social. Some, like the author, relish spending time outdoors, admiring mountains and breathtaking views. Others work in town and are close to civilization. Many own shops, “Independent bookstore, independent hardware store, independent stationery store! … and wage war with human nature at large.” It is the author’s intentions of writing the piece that reveals the State, and herself as well. These ideas drive the personal essay, reach out to the readers, and reveal to them the strong bond of the author and the state.

Alison Bechdel lives in Vermont today, and after reading her essay on Vermont, readers can understand why she never left. The essay takes the reader deep down into the core of the state and shows readers that it is independent yet connected within. The essay uncovers what makes Vermont Vermont: the trees, beautiful scenery, its loving sense of bonding, and heroic mountains. However, by doing so, the essay takes the reader down to the core of the author as well. Bechdel explained with her memory of ‘A Sound of Music’: “Absence of Nazis, presence of hills. The same reason I moved to Vermont.”

The State by State collection shows off America in a personal way. The readers live and feel the state from the author’s intimate descriptions. State by State certainly lived up to its name since the book uses carefully crafted personal essays to explore one state at a time.