[stylist] The problem with memoirs

[Lynda Lambert]

I really love the memoir form of writing. It is based on an actual life 
event, or moments of a life,  but then it flourishes into the imagination as 
well. It is like a weaving of warp and weft. A tapestry of moments in a life 
as told by the person who has lived those moments. It is a lie based on a 
truth, and we understand that from the get-go, and we expect to be swept 
away by the imagination mingled with actual moments.  I love the memoir 
because it is "moments" in a life, and not the full tale of the 
auto-biography. And, the biography, of course, is slanted because it is only 
one person's view that is expressed - the author.

I love the memoir for the same reason I love the theater and going to see a 
very well written play.  Suspension of disbelief is necessary as I open the 
book and begin to read. It is "real" but it is "not real" at the same time. 
Next to poetry (great poetry) the memoir is right up there on my favorites 
list.

Lynda


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bridgit Pollpeter" <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 2:00 PM
Subject: [stylist] The problem with memoirs


> Vejas,
>
> First, Cheaper by the Dozen is a fictionalized account of a true story,
> so it's not actually a piece of nonfiction, but loosely based on the
> real family.
>
> Second, to answer your question, my emphasis at university was creative
> nonfiction- memoir, personal essay, etc., so I will try my best to
> explain this. Even the experts can differ on definitions, but in a
> nutshell, autobiographies tend to be written in a linear order, are
> typically about famous figures and celebrities and are told in a more
> traditional fashion. Memoirs often read like novels because they do not
> follow linear timelines, use more literary techniques like dialogue,
> scenic development, metaphor and imagery, descriptive language and most
> memoirs seek for a universal meaning. Where an autobiography strictly
> addresses a single person and their life, a memoir uses a person's
> personal experiences to find a relatability factor; to discover a
> universal. In The Clan of the One-Breasted Women, Terry Tempest Williams
> uses her families history of cancer to tie it in with environmental
> issues.
>
> Autobiographies also usually tell an entire life story where memoirs
> tend to focus on a single moment in a persons life, or focus on only a
> few fragments but not an entire life story.
>
> Memoirs are usually more stylistic, as mentioned above, which is why
> they read like novels. Autobiographies don't rely much on descriptive
> language and scenic development. However, publishers often misuse both
> words and title books memoir when they may be more autobiographical in
> nature and vice versus.
>
> Also keep in mind that autobiographies are written by the person who the
> book is about; biographies are written by another person. People often
> confuse the two, and for some reason, BARD categorizes both under
> biographies, which I find annoying.
>
> Hopefully this all makes sense.
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
> Read my blog at:
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> "History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
> The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:05:16 -0800
> From: vejas <brlsurfer at gmail.com>
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [stylist] the problem with memoirs
> Message-ID: <4f4ebd3e.6745340a.5ed2.03fd at mx.google.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi,
> As you know I just finished a memoir.  Now I'm reading another
> one called A Girl named Zippy.  I don't love it yet, but I don't
> hate it either.
> Now, this is what I think about memoirs.  I believe that they are
> interesting, as they chronicle a person's life.  However, I am
> more interested in a persns' childhood than adulthood.
> Sometimes, especially in this one book I read, the memoir doesn't
> easily walk the person through their life.  What I mean is, they
> might talk about when they're 8, then when they're 10 and then go
> back to when they're 8.  What's the difference between a memoir
> and an autobiography?
>
> For once I actually know what book I'm going to read after this.
> As you know, there's this  play, "Cheaper by the Dozen", which
> concerns a family of 12 kids.  And there's a book about it, which
> interests me.  So I'm reading it next.
> What do you think of memoirs?
> Vejas
>
>
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