Category Archives: Books About Memoir

Judith Barrington’s Writing the Memoir: A Sophisticated Guide

Posted on May 27, 2011 by

Judith Barrington, memoirist and poet, has established a reputation as an excellent teacher and workshop leader. Her book Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art has become a well-known text in academic courses. When more than two professors recommended the … Continue reading →

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Review of Ander Monson's Vanishing Point: Not a Memoir

Posted on June 27, 2010 by

  Lanie Tankard is back! This time she has read and reviewed a memoir that challenges the boundaries of the genre–and in the process tells a life story (indirectly). I think you will find her review fascinating.  I know she … Continue reading →

Posted in Books About Memoir, Guest blogger, My Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Defining Memoir–With Tongue Firmly in Cheek

Posted on May 9, 2010 by

Thanks to Richard Gilbert, whose wonderful blog Narrative I highly recommend, I can include a link  guaranteed to induce a chuckle. One of the goals of this blog focuses on the quest to understand memoir as a genre. What differentiates … Continue reading →

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The Power of Memoir Giveaway: Just Around the Corner

Posted on March 22, 2010 by

I am looking forward to a week of reading, writing, exercising, meditating, and blogging–another wonderful “staycation” like the one I described last summer. On Wednesday of this week, writer, teacher, and therapist, Linda Joy Myers will be doing a guest … Continue reading →

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Laughter and Family in Memoir Writing: Guest Blogs and an Upcoming Giveaway

Posted on March 7, 2010 by

 “What makes us laugh out loud?” is the question I am asking as I re-read Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Next week I will try to answer that question for a guest post  I plan to send to Matilda Butler at … Continue reading →

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Six-Word Memoir Contest

Posted on January 14, 2010 by

Have you tried to tell your life story in just six words?  Smith magazine discovered a gold mine with this concept a few years ago and now has published several popular books listing these short narratives. The whole concept derives from a … Continue reading →

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Ben Yagoda's Memoir: A History on the Kindle–A Double Review

Posted on January 2, 2010 by

Ben Yagoda’s history of the memoir genre should make any other survey redundant. He’s performed a great service, not only to readers and writers but also to the new field of nonfiction/memoir studies. As promised previously, I will describe not only what … Continue reading →

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Why I am Loving My Kindle: And a Request for Readers to Report on Their Own E-book Experiences

Posted on December 27, 2009 by

A few weeks ago I posted a list of 18 books I had blogged about in the last six months. At the end of the list I included two books I have not yet read, pictured here. Today I got out … Continue reading →

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"But Enough About Me: What Do You Think of My Memoir?"

Posted on July 16, 2009 by

Books about memoir tend to be serious. Writers theorize about the role of memory, wonder about its reliability, and offer suggestions about how to write artfully. This one is different. Nancy K. Miller has written a witty and thoughtful book … Continue reading →

Posted in Books About Memoir, My Reviews | 6 Comments

Memoir as a Healing Art

Posted on March 22, 2009 by

Becoming Whole:  Writing Your Healing Story by Linda Joy Myers belongs in your library of books about memoir.  Like Tristine Rainer’s Your Life as Story, Maureen Murdock’s Unreliable Truth: Memory and Memoir, Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, and Patty … Continue reading →

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