Memoirs
What is a Memoir? A narrative composed from personal experience
Autobiography and Biography Autobiography: Written by the author, covers the author’s entire life to the present Includes details about his or her public and private life Biography: Someone’s life story written by another person or persons.
How is it different from an Autobiography or Biography? A memoir is a special kind of autobiography, that involves a portion of the author’s life. The text is about the personal knowledge and/or experiences of the author.
Memoir: Fact or Fiction? – True – Honest – Accurate
Memoir: Writing Techniques Do NOT list every part of your life Focus on a specific event or events and examine it for meaning….in other words why is this event important? It is nonfiction, but written in a fiction story form Written in first person, from the author’s perspective
Ernest Hemingway: Challenged to write a story in six words He wrote: – “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
SMITH Magazine: Challenged readers and famous writers to submit their own six-word memoirs for a contest online
Example: 9M 9M uRU uRU
Why do we tell stories?
How is it possible to condense the essence of who you are into six words?
“Educated too much, lived too little.” - Dan Vance How can education get in the way of life? How can being educated too little affect life?
“World backpacking decade ends with minivan.” – Cindi Hounton The word minivan packs a powerful punch. How would the meaning change if the word were: – Porsche – Job – Mortgage “World backpacking decade ends with minivan.” – Cindi Hounton
“Forgot to say I love her.”- Omi Castanar What emotion does this conjure in you? Which of the six words makes you feel this way?
“Bad brakes discovered at high speed.”- Paul Schultz Does he mean this literally or metaphorically? If it is symbolic, what might his bad brakes and high speed be? What might be yours?
“Leaving: I toss blame like grenades.”- Tanya Jarrett Is Tanya bitter, self righteous, or happy at last? Which word makes you think so?
“Despite disorders, jafroed jewboy gets girl.”- Michael Eisner What do you think he means by jafroed? How does this memoir address anti-Semitism?
“Crappy parents killed my self esteem.” – Julie Doherty Julie’s memoir seems so final. Can self-esteem be resurrected and if so, how?
Six-Word Memoirs and Meaning “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.” The success of Ernest Hemingway’s story lies in the multiple questions and possible meanings that lie between the lines. For example:Why is the narrator selling the shoes? Is the baby grown? Did she die? Did she simply go barefoot or was she sadly never able to walk? Is the narrator the mother? The father? The sibling? The former baby? Is the story about the end of childhood? The end of parenthood? The end of innocence or justice or happiness or all of the above? The questions are endless and the possible meanings are many.
Homework: My Life in Six Words Step One: Write your own memoir in six words Step two: Create a picture that captures the meaning of your memoir Step three: Answer the following questions: – How difficult was it to write your life in six words? – What is the meaning or meanings of your memoir? – What question(s) does your memoir leave the reader? Step four: Present memoir and picture to the class on Wednesday, October 6 th.
Guidelines: Memoir can NOT be more than six words Memoir must have a meaning Picture must be in color, no black and white Picture must be on copy paper, lined paper will NOT be accepted Picture must relate to memoir All three questions must be answered on the back of the picture DUE on Wednesday, October 6th