Colin McEnroe Show: The Art (And Glut) Of Memoir
We track the rise of writing filled with 'self-discovery.'
My e-mail inbox is full of pitches for memoirs.
Here's one by Deirdre Marie Capone called, "Uncle Al." The press release refers to Al Capone as her uncle and promises us inside-the-family insights about the Valentnie's Day Massacre as well as "authentic Capone family recipes." It concludes: Deirdre relates what life was like growing up the grand niece of Public Enemy #1, Al Capone.
... So already we have stumbled into an area of imprecision. Is he her uncle or her grand uncle? And here we have in a nutshell the problem posed by the modern explosion of memoir-writing. There are too many of them. They are often written by people with dubious claims on history. And their veracity is often in doubt.
On the other hand, and I speak now as a memoir-writer more than as a receiver of press releases, there are, in memoirs, beautiful, funny, sad, haunting, instructive stories many of which would be otherwise lost.
Today - the art of memoir writing. What are the genre's ethics? How is memoir different than autobiography?
Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
Upcoming Events:
- Mr. Couser will be giving a book talk, "Why Memoir Matters," at the Stonington Public Library in Stonington, CT, at 5 p.m. on January 29.
- Bloom and Levine will offer A Class in Memoir starting Wednesday, March 7, through Wednesday, April 25. There is a fee of $600 for the eight-week course. The registration deadline is Wednesday, February 15. The class runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Mark Twain Museum Center, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford. One session will be held in Mark Twain's library in the historic house. To participate, a serious interest in the memoir form is the only requirement; beginners are welcome. To register, please send a brief letter or email of interest to Steve Courtney at steve.courtney@marktwainhouse.org or call 860-247-0998, Ext. 243. Registrants will be limited to fourteen. The tuition fee must be paid in full by the registration deadline, February 15.
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Lary Bloom
He is the best! Please have him on often!
Great topic. Thanks!
Thanks for taking my call today. In my work, I haven't had too much difficulty drawing people into a story because I can edit it down or enhance it with photos and music to help drive the story along. But I agree with Larry, that setting the scene by providing context helps the viewer or reader relate and engage more. I recently had a client that did a such a superb job of telling his father's World War 2 story that it really required very little editing of the story itself -- he had probably heard the tale many, many times and retold it at countless gatherings through the years. Check out Job's dad's story here: http://vimeo.com/31787752
EMAIL FROM JEAN:
So glad you are doing a show on memoirs! Memoirs are our history. They
do not have to be lengthy tomes - even short anecdotes help to fill
the gaps in history. This is our premise at storychip.com. Our
collective stories/memoirs tell our history in rich ways not typically
accessible in historical texts.
Currently, we have a group of nonagenarian writers from Pomperaug
Woods adding their stories to Story Chip. Their stories are precious,
illuminating historical documents which, without Story Chip, might
otherwise be lost. Their stories tells us for instance, what it was
like to have hungry men regularly visit seeking food in the
Depression, what it was like for a child to hear about Pearl Harbor,
what wartime weddings were like. Memories are out history.
EMAIL FROM DAVID:
eggers' memoir "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius" was one of the few by a young person to have grabbed me... ask your guests about the nature of human suffering and why it does not always make for a ripping memoir
oh also ask them about all those different types of memoir with long, off-putting german names
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