Memoir, Ripped from the Headlines

LAST NIGHT IN my memoir class, I was talking about how memoir is a genre, within which there are many separate ways to express yourself. This always surprises those who think that memoir is one big book that begins with one’s birth and ends with what you had today for lunch. It’s not. Instead, the genre has breadth, and includes reacting to what’s going on in the news.

As an example, I used the Penn State child abuse story, and posed that anyone with abuse in the family history, someone who is a college trustee, as well as anyone who is a Penn State alum would be among those people whose pieces I’d like to read today in my newspaper.

I was richly rewarded today by this column, whose perfect pitch makes the point better than I did last night. I pass it along to all of you who struggle with what to write.

Read the news. React.

It’s memoir.

And it informs us.