Interviews Victoria Chang’s new collection, Dear Memory, expands the field of the memoir for readers to explore a full-color archive of family photos and historical documents collaged between lines of poetry and letters. It prompts us to ask, with her, What composes a life and what makes of life art? What makes of memory history, and whose history, and how do we survive loss? We might expect the author of five books of poetry and two children’s books to incorporate the lyric in her first book of nonfiction, but Chang goes further. If her memories arrive at times as poetry, she denies them the protection of a poem. For instance, at the end of a letter that begins, “Do you remember those Fridays in gym class . . . ,” she realizes that memory may be “the exit wound of joy.” Such insights pierce us before we can register surprise. Elsewhere, she covers her mother’s mouth with three Mandarin characters in the photo on her certificate of naturalization, inserting her reservation into the official record along with her daughter’s grief. I reached out to Chang, moved by this book’s innovative form. “It was always my goal as a writer to be able to make whatever I want,” she told me via Zoom video hosted by the low-residency MFA program at Antioch University, which she directs. The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN Voelcker Award, a Sustainable Arts Foundation... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-05 19:50:39 UTC ]
In “The Woman in Me,” the pop star mines her extraordinary story for generic lessons. But the details speak for themselves. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2023-10-29 19:33:11 UTC ]
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The celebrity memoir is booming. But while such books have become part of entertainers' brand management, the focus on salacious details poses risks. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-10-28 08:00:00 UTC ]
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Britney Spears’ memoir illustrates once again the potential lifelong damage that can be caused by being a child star. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2023-10-27 11:37:38 UTC ]
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“I know my limitations, but I would still invite William Shakespeare,” says the actor, whose new memoir is “Being Henry: The Fonz … and Beyond.” “I would also invite Daniel Silva and definitely Larry David!” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-26 12:16:08 UTC ]
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In Myriam Gurba’s latest essay collection Creep, the Mexican American author interrogates both those who deceive, exploit, and oppress others as well as the culture that enables them. “People who hurt other people can be charming,” Gurba notes in the title essay. “It works in their favor.” In... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-10-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
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“Welcome to the ‘Bad Ass Women Memoir Club,’” Pinkett Smith wrote in a cheeky note to the fellow first-time author. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2023-10-25 17:27:27 UTC ]
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Michelle Williams' impression of Justin Timberlake as she narrates Britney Spears' memoir is going viral as 'the greatest clip of audio since Watergate.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-25 01:06:01 UTC ]
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“The Upstairs Delicatessen,” a memoir by Dwight Garner of The New York Times, traces his life’s twin passions. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-24 09:00:14 UTC ]
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As my debut memoir plowed towards print publication, I suddenly remembered that my agents had negotiated the audio book rights with my publisher. Although I had the option to try out for the role of narrator (essentially to audition to be myself) my agents suggested that I should consider... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-23 08:50:26 UTC ]
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From her Louisiana roots to the quasi-imprisonment of her conservatorship, Britney Spears' 'The Woman in Me' paints the pop star's life as a Victorian nightmare. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-20 20:46:28 UTC ]
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Fei-Fei Li, author of 'The Worlds I See' and co-director of Stanford's Human-Centered AI Institute, joins the L.A. Times Book Club Nov. 14. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-20 14:00:28 UTC ]
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The book shares secrets – Mantel’s own alongside those of the writers, historical figures and places she describes. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2023-10-19 14:40:38 UTC ]
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The tennis champion has signed a two-book deal with Penguin Random House, saying it will be the first time she has paused and reflected on her remarkable career Serena Williams is set to publish two books, the first of which, a memoir, will take an “intimate” look at her childhood and remarkable... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-10-18 14:56:05 UTC ]
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The pop star explains in her new memoir how control and sexism left her “feeling like a shadow of myself." Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2023-10-17 17:25:20 UTC ]
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Athena Dixon’s The Loneliness Files: A Memoir in Essays opens on New Year’s Eve of 2021, with Dixon alone in her apartment in Philadelphia, thinking about death during a year fraught with pandemic fear. The first pieces explore her fascination with women who died on their own and, because they... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-10-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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George Stephanopoulos sells a history of the White House Situation Room to Grand Central, Random House buys a memoir from Salman Rushdie, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A recent memoir considers how much we concede when we regard rest as a call to judgment. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2023-10-12 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Editor Martin Baron will discuss "Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos and the Washington Post" at L.A. Times Book Club night at USC. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-11 21:08:41 UTC ]
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Acclaimed novelist Salman Rushdie is releasing a memoir about his experience being attacked on stage last year. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-11 15:57:11 UTC ]
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As reported by Publishers Weekly earlier this morning, Random House will publish Salman Rushdie’s new memoir, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, on April 16, 2024. The book will mark Rushdie’s first time speaking at length about the brutal attack he suffered while onstage at the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-11 15:03:03 UTC ]
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