A while back, in preparation for Mary Karr’s visit to Lemuria, I began to think hard about why so many people are drawn to the memoir. I think we all know why, but I wanted to put it into words. I reflected on a long-past course in women’s memoir, flipped through some of the course reading and was assured by this quote from Kennedy Fraser:
“I felt very lonely then, self-absorbed, shut off. I needed all this murmured chorus, this continuum of true-life stories, to pull me through. They were like mothers and sisters to me, these literary women, many of them already dead; more than my own family, they seemed to stretch out a hand.” (Read more of this blog, The Power of the Narrative, here)
You might have heard that memoirist Jeannette Walls will be at Lemuria on Wednesday. I cannot wait to meet her. I am also selfishly pleased that I have another opportunity to think about Jeannette’s memoirs and all the other ones I love as well. To further indulge in the memoir, Lemuria is also fortunate to be visited by Rodney Crowell (read about his visit and memoir Chinaberry Sidewalks here), Jeannette on Wednesday, Mark Richard’s House of Prayer No. 2 in February (it comes with these instructions: read even if you do not know who Mark Richard is) and Andre Dubus III in March for his new memoir, Townie (already receiving great reviews prior to its February 1st release date).
I finally remembered my coworkers and their favorites:
Nell and Kaycie love the bright and young Sloane Crosley.
Nell says: “It had me doubled over laughing when I read I Was Told There’d Be Cake. Her writing reminded me of Dave Sedaris if Dave Sedaris was a straight female with a penchant for creating awkward situations and then living in them to the fullest. Crosley writes for Playboy sometimes and that witty and sexy humor permeates the entire book.” (Read Kaycie’s blog here.) I suppose you might not consider Sloane a traditional memoirist, but perhaps she writes the mini-memoir in an essay.
Norma, on a deeper note, could not stop talking about Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Pulitzer Prize winning author Gail Caldwell. She writes: “This book begins with Knapp’s death but Caldwell chronologically unfolds the back story of their relationship; telling how Knapp was the perfect friend but even funnier and more interesting than one could have imagined.” (Find the rest of Norma’s write-up here.)
How about it for Dave Eggers and David Sedaris? And we all loved meeting Mary Karr last July. I could mention more, but what is your favorite memoir?
The signing with Jeannette Walls starts at 5:00 on Wednesday with a reading to follow at 5:30. Bring a friend!
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