"Sorry about the noise"

"Sorry about the noise"
"Sorry about the noise"

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Professional Text: Part 3

Memoir: the final part of the book.

The final portion of the text is about memoir. Gornick contemplates how the memoir rose to prominence. Novels have been all about voice; a voice that compelled us and reached our emotional core. As time passes by, the voice grew less and less compelling. Soon, people began to focus inward because they believe their voices could be compelling. This, Gornick believes, led to the rise of memoir. Gornick talks about the idea of the self, and how that idea "is almost always served through a single piece of awareness that clarifies only slowly in the writer, gaining strength and definition as the narrative progresses." In bad memoir, the line of clarification is muddy, uncertain and indistinct. In good memoir, it becomes the organizing principal, and drives the narrative forward. 

What I learned: I learned the difference between good memoir and bad memoir, and how memoir differs from personal essays.

Golden lines: "Memoir is neither testament nor fable nor analytic transcription." 

Questions: Gornick begins the chapter on memoir by pointing out: "Thirty years ago people who thought they had a story to tell sat down to write a novel. Today they sit down to write a memoir" (pg 89). How does she explain this shift? Do you agree? What other reasons might account for the recent popularity of memoir and other forms of autobiographical writing?

Strategies: Have students write a snip it of their memoir.  

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