Creative Matters

A Getting Out of the Way: An Exploration in Using a We-Narrative Voice to Decentre Bias

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21827/ejlw.15.43566

Keywords:

creative non-fiction

Abstract

We-narratives are a less common variant of the it-narrative, in which a story is written from the perspective of an object or non-human entity. As a first-person plural perspective, a we-narrative assumes affiliation and understanding among the community voice and differs from a multi-voice narrative. The author’s own writings implement we-narratives to force an authorial confrontation with implicit bias, assumptions, and perspectives of time and space that move outside those of human concerns or history. The differentiation between the we-narrative and it-narrative is outlined especially in relation to spatiality, temporality, and intent. The approach is meant to include notions of time and spatiality that extend past human perception, and to position a human perspective as only one of many. A we-narrative offers an intriguing lens through which writers can tackle issues of injustice through fiction and hybrid stories, explore biases and assumptions, and discover unexpected connections.

Author Biography

Paula Read, University of Bristol

Paula Read, PhD in Creative Writing, focuses on American frontier history, family mythmaking, and the construction of American womanhood. She's an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Bristol. Short fiction and non-fiction essays have been widely published, including in Teen Vogue, The Independent and Mother Jones. She's a writer, fiction and non-fiction editor for Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature. She's presented her research on the representation of pioneer womanhood, especially in mainstream media, across major universities in Europe. She is currently working on a book about the Yellowstone television franchise for the TV Matters series is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory.

Published

2026-09-28

Issue

Vol. 15 (2026): EJLW

Section

Creative Matters

Copyright (c) 2026 Paula Read

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