Magical Memoir Moments
Memoir First Lines–A Contest for Readers of this Blog
Recently I had an inquiry from a writer who asked if I had a list of excellent first lines from memoirs. That sounded like something I should have. First words contain the vital “hook” that overcomes the reader’s resistance and skepticism. Think about how you challenge a book to speak to you when you gaze…
More Memoir Lists! Take Some of These to the Beach this Summer!
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that we collect lists of top memoirs from people who write or study memoir. Now that summer is breathing down our necks, we are beginning to see summer reading lists popping up like dandelions. The LA Times list was circulating on Twitter, and another…
Another Top Memoir List! Dinty Moore Picks Top Six to Illustrate Variety
I love when friends send me memoir lists, because they are helping to build a community of readers and writers. This time, my friend Susan Blackwell Ramsey, award-winning poet and literary cheerleader, sent me the link. Others are welcome to do the same! Dinty Moore, the author of many nonfiction books, editor of Brevity, and…
Shirley's Top Ten Memoirs
“Which memoirs do you like best?” That’s the most frequently asked question when someone hears about this blog. Having now read at least 100 memoirs, I am ready to offer my own top ten list for your inspection. The ten books fall into three categories: Memoirs written before the current trend–books that first drew me…
Mary Karr's Secret–Humility and Confidence–Interview in the Paris Review
Mary Karr has done it again. Maybe I should say that Amanda Fortini has done it–meaning that the interview Fortini published in The Paris Review with Karr as a subject is wonderful. If you haven’t read any of Karr’s poetry or her three memoirs, you will want to do so after reading the interview. If…
Rosanne Cash: Composed
I have always had a fondness for the best of country music and have always enjoyed making fun of the worst. One thing is true about country music: you get a lot of memoir packed into most of those three-minute songs. Johnny Cash and Ruth Carter Cash were some of the best. When I heard…
100 Top Memoirs: Sue Silverman's List Will Give You Even More!
I had the great good fortune this weekend to attend the Bear River Writers’ Conference, about which I will say more later. Sue Silverman, author of two bestselling memoirs, led an excellent workshop on memoir. I purchased and will review her craft book Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir at a later time. In that…
Memoirs for High School Students: Do You Have a Suggestion or List?
Last weekend three of my college friends and I met in the beautiful home of my friend Tina in Virginia. We first spied each other in September, 1966, when we played hookey from college orientation sessions and walked to the local pizza shop instead. We have remained in each other’s lives ever since. Tina is…