What we’re about
This meetup, a hybrid book-club/writing group, is designed for both readers and writers in the genre of memoir, defined loosely. (In my definition, it spans authors as diverse as James Baldwin, Rebecca Solnit, Bharati Mukherjee, Joan Didion, Andre Aciman, Maya Angelou, and many more.)
This meetup will have both IRL meetings and virtual meetings, by Zoom.
We'll discuss a variety of memoirs spanning many sub-genres. A short list with a few of my favorites, is at bottom; additional memoirs will be selected by poll of group members.
The IRL meetings, to be held in local cafes, will combine silent writing (in response to prompts) and sharing what we have written to each other.
Scheduling of the virtual meetings will be based on the time zones spanned by participants, and are likely to be held during the evening CET (Amsterdam time), to wide participation.
We'll discuss these questions (among many others).
Why do we read memoir?
Do we have some common favorites, or are our tastes very different?
Do we prefer memoir to autofiction (a fictionalized account of one's life), or the reverse, and why?
And finally, how can we use the tools of memoir to understand ourselves and our lives, or even the world around us?
We'll also discuss the structure and literary devices of each memoir, and the impact of those choices and tools.
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Books on the short list:
Vivian Gornick, The SITUATION and the STORY, The Art of Personal Narrative
Letters of Transit, Reflections on Exile, Identity, Language, and Loss. Ed. André Aciman. (Contributions by Aciman, Bharati Mukherjee, and others.) 135 pages.
Rebecca Solnit, The Faraway Nearby. 254 pages.
Anne Truitt, Daybook. (The Journal of an Artist) 234 pages.
Abigail Thomas, two memoirs: A Three Dog Life and What Comes Next and How to Like It.