Class

Memory and Memoir: A Vignette Approach to Life Writing

Memories often emerge spontaneously, in no particular chronological order and in vivid detail. Yet memoir writing, or life writing, usually assumes we tell our stories in order, going back to day one and marching through time. In this course, by contrast, we focus on singular events, both large and small, capturing these memories in brief vignettes that focus on the sensory aspects of life—the smells, sights, sounds, tastes, and feels that stay with us.

Allowing memories to emerge spontaneously does not require forsaking a narrative: indeed, the most engaging memories are those that tell a story, albeit one that doesn’t necessarily follow a path from beginning to middle to end. Compelling vignettes also engage the reader by decentering the “I” and locating oneself in relation to other people and places.

The vignette approach proves to be liberating for both the brain and the pen (or the computer); the blank page disappears quickly when one does not feel the pressure to record events in a linear fashion or remember exactly "what happened when."

This 4-hour class will focus on discussion of both published and student writing; students will receive extensive weekly instructor feedback on their writing as well as share work with peers.

Class reading list:

--Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs, Beth Ann Fennelly, required
--bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions, optional to buy, selections copied for class
--Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir, Kat Chow, optional to buy, selections copied
--Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Life and Writing, Anne Lamott, optional to buy, selections copied

Accessibility: Please submit this request form at least two to three weeks in advance if you have any accessibility requests for this class. This class takes place in-person, at the Loft at Open Book. Please see the Loft’s website for the most up to date information about the Loft’s COVID policies.