100 Memoirs - Latest Comments

Re: Google Ad as Memoir: Fabulous!!

Dora Dueck — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:39:25 -0000

I didn't watch the Super Bowl so can't vote on the best part of it. But this is certainly clever -- such a heartwarming story, as love stories are, and which, good for them, makes us feel all warm and fuzzy about Google to boot! :)

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

shirleyhs — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:18:16 -0000

I love this interpretation of Angela's Ashes. And I hope I can remember the quote about firewood heating you twice. Memoir is definitely like that. We get to live many lives if we can reflect on them deeply and at different stages of live.

Re: Listen to Six-Word Memoirs on NPR

shirleyhs — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:14:36 -0000

Glad this was a useful post, Clif. I love keeping my antennae up for memoir news. This new awareness is a little like I was pregnant and for the first time began noticing how many pregnant women and babies there are in the world! Memoir is all around us--and sometimes the more boiled-down it is, the more profound.

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

whollyjeanne — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:08:52 -0000

well, red-faced jeanne here to say that when i read susan's comment out loud, i realize i misread it before. susan, i thought you were pondering IF karr's flat-out honest writing was my unrecognized reason. now i see you asked WHAT that unrecognized reason is. so i've answered, to the best of my knowledge, it'll just sound a little wonky without this context.

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

whollyjeanne — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:53:55 -0000

don't think that's the reason cause i loved cherry and liar - especially liar in which some of the things weren't true, but karr refused to tell which ones aren't true and successfully argued for it to remain a memoir instead of going onto the fiction shelf. i think it has more to do with it being a hardback, and since i do most of my reading at bedtime, i usually wait till the paperbacks come out because hardback books can become lethal weapons when i doze off and they meet with my nose;) after leaving my comment earlier this morning, i clicked over to my local library and reserved lit. will just make sure i read during the awake and upright hours.

Re: Google Ad as Memoir: Fabulous!!

clifh — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:51:29 -0000

It sort of reminds me of a haiku poem. It says much with little. My daughter picked this as the best of the Super Bowl ads. I missed it the first time, and only knew about it from her description. I’m glad to have the opportunity to view it with the link you provided.

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

Susan Cushman — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:32:41 -0000

Karr does just what you prefer: she "flat out owns her life" and there is no sniveling, whining or wallowing. I wonder what that "unrecognized reason" is that you put the book back on the shelf?

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

whollyjeanne — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:39:33 -0000

well, huh. i picked up "lit" again last thursday . . . and, for unrecognized reasons, put it back on the shelf (again). as for your t/f question, my answer is t. drawing from my life and the lives of others, i have written personal histories and memoirs, and my thesis in grad school focused on autoethnography. whether reading or writing, i prefer those in which the author flat-out owns their life, finding it cleaner somehow, cutting through that snivelly, whiney, woe-is-me, wallowing voice.

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

richardgilbert — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:07:40 -0000

So glad you called our attention to this. I think that confession in the sense of speaking the truth is vital. It takes courage and isn't trivial. And a sense of sin in the sense that anything which diminishes or takes for granted the gift of life is a sin—unhappiness is a sin. Not in the religious way, but in the truly spiritual. Perhaps because I've just blogged on Kierkegaard such things are on my mind, but I feel that more than these forgiveness is the sine qua non of memoir as it is of life. I find this aspect implicit in what you have quoted concerning Karr's work. And from what I have read of her, she can be angry but isn't bitter, because of forgiveness. I admire her for that.

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

jerrywaxler — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:49:47 -0000

As for confession, I found Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes" to be a sort of giant confession. Towards the end of the book he sits with a priest. When he refuses to enter the confessional, the priest says in effect "let's just sit here and you can tell me your story. It will make you feel better." He tells the priest, and incidentally also tells us, and presumably in the telling he shares his load. A friend of mine who grew up on a farm says, Firewood heats you twice, first when you cut it and second when you burn it. Memoirs are like that. They relieve you when you write, and then when you share.

Jerry
Memory Writers Network

Re: Listen to Six-Word Memoirs on NPR

Alexis Grant — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:15:18 -0000

Hey Shirley -- So glad you visited my blog, because it led me to yours! I love what you're doing here. Such a big part of being able to write memoir is reading work by others.

Re: Tell Your Travel Story–Win a $3,000 Vacation

Gutsywriter — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:22:00 -0000

Did you send one in? I found this contest on the expat blog. Where did you see it?
I'm sending mine in tonight. Hope we win.
Thanks for the comment on my blog. Also wanted to know if you're entering the $3000 manuscript contest on Writer's Digest by May 2010.

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

shirleyhs — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:03:21 -0000

Susan, thanks so much for this comment. It's so great to find people here who found me on Twitter and vice versa. I need to spend more time on your blog, obviously. We have much in common. I've written about 40 years of marriage, have grown children, and attempt to follow Christ in my daily life. I also think Lit is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Did you catch the list of Karr's own top 11 memoirs in a previous post here? I will be blogging about them. I'll also be looking out for your tweets and posts! Thanks for starting what I hope will be a longer conversation.

Re: Mary Karr and Augustine: Spiritual Autobiography in the 21st Century

Susan Cushman — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:37:51 -0000

As a memoir reader AND writer (8 personal essays published, book-length memoir in progress) I agree with Short--if you don't come clean, your writing will be contrived, or as you say, "whiny or smug." Confession brings healing and relief from anger. "Lit" is my all-time favorite memoir, and it's obvious that Karr faced down her demons before she wrote it. Other greats? "Dry" by Augusten Burroughs, "The Unbreakable Child" by Kim Michelle Richardson, "A Girl Named Zippy" by Haven Kimmel, and "Faith, Eventually" by Anne Lamott.

Re: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: An “Old Mennonite” Review

shirleyhs — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:21:17 -0000

Jdp,

Once again you have offered a really interesting window into the dynamics among "MBs" and "OMs." This lack of "border consciousness" among MB's is all the more impressive, since the insertion of "Brethren" into the name at the point of the split in Russia must have been very important at one time. Right?

Re: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: An “Old Mennonite” Review

shirleyhs — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:15:48 -0000

Thanks, Dora. Your MB perspective is really valuable here. One thing this book has allowed Mennonite readers from all branches of the family to recognize is how much--or little!--we know about each other. I invite readers here to click on your name to visit your own excellent blog. There's a fascinating conversation on human nature--good or bad--going on there!

Re: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: An “Old Mennonite” Review

shirleyhs — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:09:33 -0000

Thanks, AbnerS, for sharing your opinion. I'm honored that this blog has become a place where people with different viewpoints share their impressions of this book. If you've read all 64 of the comments above, you know you are not alone.

Re: Want to Create Your Own Memoir Course? Here’s a Syllabus to Get You Started

shirleyhs — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:52:01 -0000

I agree, Antonia. So glad you found this helpful. I would love to collect more of these, so come back again to check in!

Re: Memoir Contest: Seven Hours Left!

shirleyhs — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:47:53 -0000

Great, Sonia. Glad you could get something out of this. I sent a message to Katharine Sands. Remember her from SBWC?

Re: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: An “Old Mennonite” Review

AbnerS — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:15:42 -0000

I didn't mind Rhoda Janzen's use of sexual words but I thought it was clear that she deliberately wanted to shock. I also thought that:
1. she was very unkind in the way she described her parents
2. she deliberately threw in words that are rarely, if ever, used in conversation, i.e., she was trying to showing off her professor-ness
3. she apparently doesn't know the larger Mennonite world, which is much larger than Mennonite Brethern

Re: Want to Create Your Own Memoir Course? Here’s a Syllabus to Get You Started

Antonia Krueger — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:21:37 -0000

Life narratives can be valuable for many purposes. I appreciate your posting this syllabus as a model for future writing instructors to draw upon.

Re: Six-Word Memoir Contest

43854594285 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:13:39 -0000

i want to buy the books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Man on Wire: Enough Inspiration for Film, Memoir, Novel

shirleyhs — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:51:22 -0000

Welcome, Jim! I'd love to hear more about Philippe Petit's memoir from you. We don't have to take Joe's word. We want to hear from those who disagree also. I'm even open to reading the memoir. However, I have only three hours/day available for both reading and blogging and have lots of other memoirs to read and write about. So, I end up choosing among good things and having to let some go. Tell me what you loved. I'm sure other readers want to know also.

Re: Man on Wire: Enough Inspiration for Film, Memoir, Novel

Jim Moore — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:21:13 -0000

Joe Smith is quite wrong. James Marsh took his film from Philippe Petit's memoir, which in James's own words is extremely cinematic. Why would you consider reading a novel and not the source? How sad.

Re: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: An “Old Mennonite” Review

shirleyhs — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:02:25 -0000

So happy to welcome you to this space, Angela. I look forward to hearing more of your story!