Memoirs and the Muse

 

"A moment of silence, please, for the lost art of shutting up."

From the illustration and the above opening line, I knew this NYT article was going to be interesting (enjoy it while you can still see it for free). In a nutshell (although you will miss much of the cynical humor if you don't read it for yourself), Neil Genzlinger rants about the saturation of memoirs being published. 

His points:

1) "That you had parents and a childhood does not of itself qualify you to write a memoir."

2) "An ordeal, served up without perspective or perceptiveness, is merely an ordeal."

3) "If you’re jumping on a bandwagon, make sure you have better credentials than the people already on it."

4) "If you still must write a memoir, consider making yourself the least important character in it."

I find his take interesting, mostly. Some points I agree with. But not this one:

"There was a time when you had to earn the right to draft a memoir, by accomplishing something noteworthy or having an extremely unusual experience or being such a brilliant writer that you could turn relatively ordinary occur­rences into a snapshot of a broader historical moment. Anyone who didn’t fit one of those categories was obliged to keep quiet. Unremarkable lives went unremarked upon, the way God intended."

Writing is often cathartic act. I feel like anyone who feels like they have a story to tell should tell it (let the publishers decide who is "worthy" of being paid for it). But I do agree with his closing point:

"If you didn’t feel you were discovering something as you wrote your memoir, don’t publish it."

I found this particularly interesting as I'm considering how some of my own journey would be in book form. Lots to consider on that one.

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On another note, Radiolab had an interesting podcast (thanks, Heather) that explores situations where you are pitted against yourself. Also, Elizabeth Gilbert ("Eat, Pray, Love" author) talks about creativity and inspiration. It's neat stuff, worth the time investment.