Unit One: What Is Memoir

Unit One: What is memoir?

Readings:

Introductory Unit Quotes -- Five Quotes About Writing

1) Joyce Carol Oates 2) Brenda Ueland 3) Lauren Slater 4) Binjamin Wilkomirski 5) Isabel Allende

Introductory Unit Readings--Excerpts from Famous Memoirs

1) Frank Conroy 2) Russell Baker 3) Mary Karr 4) Amy Tan 5) Jean-Dominique Bauby

Introductory Comments from the Instructor

This online studio workshop is not an independent study course; rather, it is a memoir writing workshop in which all members must contribute in a timely manner if we are to achieve our goals. The Introductory Unit Quotes and the Introductory Unit Readings will serve as our "text" for the first weeks as students join and become comfortable using the course wiki. Soon the class conversations will move entirely to the wiki; however, for the first couple of weeks, similar versions of the assignments will appear here as well as on the course wiki.

The first writing assignment is to answer five questions. Each response is valued at 20 points, and to receive 16-20 points (grade of B or A), students need to provide answers (200 word minimum) to the first two by Monday, September 1st, and the last three no later than Monday, September 8th. In an effort to encourage students to submit responses as early as possible and get the class discussions rolling, the first two replies to each question will receive a bonus point.

By the way, do meet the minimum length requirements for each response, but don't feel you must go overboard on the length of your responses. Conciseness is a virtue. Also, feel free to comment and elaborate on the comments of other students as part of your discussion. We are here to stimulate and learn from each other as writers and human beings.

Although I am the instructor for this course, I see myself mostly as a facilitator, and I plan to be an active contributor to the discussions as soon as at least a few of you have had a chance to respond. As a writer, I’m particularly interested in the fine line between creative non-fiction and autobiographical fiction regarding truthfulness.

I'm hoping you all will be able to join the wiki easily, and I'd prefer that your responses to the introductory questions be posted there. However, I will paste student responses (sent to me via email) on the class web pages accessible through my home page until the majority of students are using the course wiki.

1) Who are you, and why are you taking this class? 2) What thoughts do you have about the quote by Joyce Carol Oates? 3) What thought do you have about what the quotes on memoir say about truth? 4) What are your first impressions of the excerpts from five famous memoirs? 5) Which of the five famous memoirs are you most likely to read soon, and why? (Elaborate on why you are drawn to that particular selection.)