Monday, January 28, 2008

Six Word Memoirs

I listen to NPR (National Public Radio) every morning on the way to work…”The Bryant Park Project”. This caught my attention and I’d like to see what people come up with in my circle. Please add yours to the list below, send it to me and your friends! Thanks!

I sent this as an email to a few people I know and I will include their Memoirs after mine! Send me an email


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There's a new book coming out that caught our attention, called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs By Famous and Obscure Writers . It's from the editors of Smith Magazine , and it's exactly what it says it is -- a collection of memoirs, each just six words long.
The idea stems from a literary legend. We don't know if it's true, but as the story goes, Ernest Hemingway was once asked to write a story in six words. His response: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." That's at least as good as The Old Man and the Sea.
The editors of Smith challenged writers to craft their own six-word memoirs, and got some interesting results. Most of them sound kinda like crosses between a personal ad and a haiku...
"Shy Jersey kid, overcompensating ever since." --Ariel Kaminer
"Being a monk stunk. Better gay." --Bob Redman
"Couldn't cope so I wrote songs." --Aimee Mann
Some of them are funny, others are pretty poignant. There's one that says, "Was father. Boys died. Still sad." That's from Ronald Zalewski.
Sum up your life in six words -- no more, no less. For best results, don't overthink it. And remember, it's supposed to be a memoir, not a fortune cookie.
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1. Mom said teach, I said “design”.---Barbara Cowen, Massachusetts
2."Lived, loved, laughed. God is good." -- Mickey, Texas
3. I left my heart in Jersey. -- Gene Orlando
4. Grew, saw it all, shrunk, content--Walter Englebrecht, Miami, Florida.
5. Creative life embraces passion and obsession.--Donna Lish, NJ
6. Family, good friends, and God's love - Gerry Cicero, Raritan, NJ
7. Hard to score weed at 59 -Woody, Mobile, Alabama
8. Youth, School, Career, Friends-Great Life! Ed Danberry
9. History called: I moved to Israel-Melody, Israel

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey, thanks for the six-word love. I wanted to mention that if anyone wants to also submit their six worder to SMITH mag at smithmag.net, you'll be: 1) considered for the next book; 2) entered into our next six-word contest, which is starting soon and ends with an ipod. And anyone who's already submitted a memoir after Jan 22 is automatically entered, even though contest doesn't start until Feb 1. thanks -Larry Smith