Joan Didion’s scientific method
Lisi Ludwig/Senior Staff
If moralism and sentimentality have poisoned the discourse, Didion’s intrepid demystification of “magical thinking” is the antidote.
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‘New journalism’ pioneer, UC Berkeley alumna Joan Didion dies at 87
UC Berkeley alumna and pioneer of “new journalism” Joan Didion died Thursday, Dec. 23, due to Parkinson’s disease at the age of 87
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What makes a person? A personal essay
It’s a question I ask myself whenever I’m doing something I enjoy — do I actually like this or has some twist of circumstance or sociality caused me to?
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Bylines from days gone by: Daily Cal alumni through the ages
Whether you’ve spent moments in the office or only encountered The Daily Californian via Zoom, being part of this community is special for a lifetime. For the 150th anniversary of our paper, here’s a look back on three of our most notable alumni through the decades.
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On self-respect: The rough, the lovely
I’m a third-year student here at UC Berkeley. My college years have not gone as I thought they would.
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Mary had a little identity crisis
Worm memories
I will spend the rest of the year trying and failing to be Mary Oliver.
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Negotiating Didion
Kind of chaos
You can see why Joan Didion is so well known for her nonfiction. She takes a political event and transforms it, dresses it up, takes it out to lunch and then deconstructs it.
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Better apocalypses
Kind of chaos
I have been considering the microphysics of apocalypses. Not blazing lights and the pale horse of Judgement Day, but smaller devastations.
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The summer of magical thinking: A personal essay
The summer gave me a glimpse of what a balanced, healthy mental life can look like, and I do not want to forget its taste.
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Aurora Theatre Company brings Joan Didion back to Berkeley in ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’
Starring veteran theater actress Stacy Ross and featuring a script written by Didion herself, the interpretation solidly personifies Didion’s prose.
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