What is a memoir?
A memoir is autobiographical writing that presents a chronological account of something from your past. A memoir:
- Is written in the first person (I, me, my) and tells the story from one person's point of view
- Is based on truth, as the author remembers it
- Conveys meaning to the reader by presenting what the author has learned from life experiences
- Contains themes
- Is told in an informal way, often using humor or emotion to pull readers into the story.
Cambridge Companion to Autobiography by
The Cambridge Companion to Autobiography offers a historical overview of the genre from the foundational works of Augustine, Montaigne, and Rousseau through the great autobiographies of the Romantic, Victorian, and modern eras. Sixteen essays from distinguished scholars and critics explore the diverse forms, audiences, styles, and motives of life writings traditionally classified under the rubric of autobiography. Chapters are arranged in chronological order and are grouped to reflect changing views of the psychological status, representative character, and moral authority of the autobiographical text. The volume closes with a group portrait of late-modernist and contemporary autobiographies that, by blurring the dividing line between fiction and non-fiction, expand our understanding of the genre. Accessibly written and comprehensive in scope, the volume will appeal especially to students and teachers of non-fiction narrative, creative writing, and literature more broadly.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1-139-94916-0Publication Date: 2014
On Life-Writing by
Introduction / Zarchary Leader -- Unravelling Shakespeare's life / James Shapiro -- A boy from Stratford, 1769-1916 : Shakespearean biography and romantic nationalism / Michael Dobson -- Romantic biography : conveying personality, intimacy, and authenticity in an age of ink on paper / Willism St. Clair -- Prosopography and crowded attention in old and new media / Alison Booth -- Writing real people / Adam Foulds -- Rosamund and Revelstein : the discandying of a creator's confection / Janis Freedman Bellow -- 'From memory' : literary encounters and life-writing / Hermione Lee -- Medieval life-writing and the strange case of Margery Kempe of Lynn (c.1373-c.1440) / Karen A. Winstead -- The materiality of early moder life-writing : the case of Richard Stonley / Alan Stewart -- The autobiographies of Benjamin Franklin / Joyce E. Chaplin -- The worst thing I ever did : the contemporary confessional memoir / Blake Morrison -- The rights to a life / J. David Velleman -- Human 2.0? Life-writing in the digital age / Patrick Hayes -- Autobiography and psychoanalysis / Laura Marcus -- The unstoried life / Galen Strawson.
Call Number: Online & CT25 .O555 2015ISBN: 9780198704065Publication Date: 2015
Writing the Self: Diaries, Memoirs, and the History of the Self by
"The self has a history. In the West, the idea of the soul entered Christianity with the Church Fathers, notably Augustine. During the Renaissance the idea of the individual attained preeminence, as in the works of Montaigne. In the seventeenth century, philosophers such as Descartes formulated notions of selfhood that did not require a divine foundation; in the next century, Hume grew skeptical of the self's very existence. Ideas of the self have changed markedly since the Romantic period and most scholars today regard it as at best a mental construct. First-person genres such as diaries and memoirs have provided an outlet for self-expression. Protestant diaries replaced the Catholic confessional, but secular diaries such as Pepys's may reveal yet more about the self. After Richardson, novels competed with diaries and memoirs as vehicles of self-expression, though memoirs survived and continue to thrive, while the diary has found a new incarnation in the personal blog. Writing the Self narrates the intertwined histories of the self and of self-expression through first-person literature." -- Publisher's website.
Call Number: PN56.S46 H44 2013ISBN: 9781441168023Publication Date: 2013
Giunta, Edvige. “Teaching Memoir at New Jersey City University.” Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy 11, no. 1 (2000): 80–89. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43587227.
O’Brien, Sharon. “A Short Reflection on Teaching Memoir and Oral History.” The Oral History Review 25, no. 1/2 (1998): 113–17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3675581.
2024 Rambler Read Topic Development Activity Slides by Annette Alvarado
Start Here!
Discussion Questions for Wake Up With Purpose! What I've Learned In My First Hundred Years:
- What did you know about Sister Jean prior to reading this book? How did the book change your impression of Sister Jean? What surprised you?
- One of the things that Sister Jean has learned is "We need to be at least a little uncomfortable in order to grow." Is this true in your experience? What is uncomfortable to you about starting the new academic year?
- in numerous places in the book, Sister Jean claims that she has lived an ordinary life. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- Sister Jean notices "Too many people are afraid to use those three magic words: 'I don't know.' Why is that?" Can you think of a time in which you acknowledged that you did not know something? What was the outcome? Was it better or worse than a time that you pretended to know more than you did?
- When Sister Jean chooses a religious life, she loses control over decisions both small (not being able to swim with her nieces and nephews, since she cannot be seen out of a habit) and large ("Wherever the BVMs wanted me to live and work, and whenever they wanted me to be there, that's where I would be."). Do you think these sorts of compromises are unique to religious life? Why or why not?
- Another lesson that Sister Jean presents in the book is that "change—especially massive change—makes people nervous. It makes us feel insecure. ... I've learned that the more personal things become to us, the harder it is to see them change." Is this true in your experience? What support or resources did you draw upon in order to successfully navigate a massive change in your life?
- What parts of Sister Jean's experiences could you relate to? What parts of her narrative did you question?
- In her work with the Ramblers basketball team, Sister Jean observes "The one thing I really look for when I watch the games is who is a team player. In sports, it;s not just about excelling as an individual or scoring the most points. You have to match your skills with the rest of the team's and be willing to do whatever it takes to win. ... Life is a team sport, after all." What does being a team player mean to you? How might you enrich your Loyola experience by collaborating with others as part of a team?
- When she leaves her family to go to the BVM motherhouse, one of the things Sister Jean values is that she "learned to get along with all kinds of people whose ideas were different from mine." Have you been challenged to be respectful and tolerant of another person's point of view? What strategies did you use and how did things turn out?
- According to Sister Jean, it was the Mundelein College students who "prodded the faculty and administration at Mundelein to diversify our curriculum and our student population." If you could work with your fellow students to make one change at Loyola, what would it be?
- At times in the book, Sister Jean mentions the 1963 Loyola basketball team and the "Game of Change" in which the integrated Loyola basketball team defeated the all-white Mississippi State basketball team. In what ways do you think sports have advanced a social justice agenda? How well do you feel Loyola has done building on the legacy of the 1963 NCAA champion team?
- Sister Jean believes that God "has blessed me with an amazing life full of love and purpose." What does a life of love and purpose mean to you?
- One theme in Sister Jean's book is the transformative power of education and reflection. In what ways do you see this expressed in the book?
- What, for you, was the most important take away from Sister Jean's story?
- In summing up her first one hundred years, Sister Jean reflects "I've never tried to be better than anyone. I've only tried to do the best I could at the things that make me happy... I don't have all the answers, but I've tried to ask good questions, godly questions." How would you sum up your life so far? What are the good questions you would like to explore?