Interviews in Bowling

I have friends who are in a bowling league and I've never really understood the appeal. Every time I read one of Nicole Williams' essays about the Hanover Bowladrome I find a better appreciation for the sport and the people who play. In this third essay Mrs. Williams effectively incorporates 1st hand research in the form of interviews, making her paper informative and easy to read. The reason for this is because she knows how to pack in a lot of information while still telling a story and not just listing facts. Before she gets into the actual narration of two separate nights at the Bowladrome she gives the reader a small paragraph filled with historical information about the game of bowling. This sets the reader up to appreciate bowling for how far it has come. It also made me appreciate the characters I later read about, Carol and Hank, two great examples of people who keep the sport of Bowling alive.

I was glad to see how this essay was set up. Instead of there being one long essay, Mrs. Williams broke it down into two parts, each describing a visit to the bowling alley. I still am not sure on how to best incorporate many research sessions into one paper but this time I know I don't have to worry about that. It was really interesting to see how different the two visits were and especially how different they are from her previous visits that did not require interviews of patrons.

I like to think that I am confident but I know that the interviewing process will be hard for me. When writing my third essay I have the benefit of being at a bar where people are usually willing to talk to strangers but that hardly makes me feel any better. I am nervous about approaching people and having the right questions that will lead to an interesting/informative essay. I found these questions when googling "Interviewing for Ethnographers" and I think it will help me come up with some great questions of my own!

Check it Out if you'd like! --> The Ethnographic Interview