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Dear Memory, expands the field of the memoir for readers to explore a full-color archive of family photos and historical documents collaged between lines of poetry and letters.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 ]
Her memoir describes her long career in diplomacy and her unwitting entanglement in Donald Trump's schemes. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-11 18:24:57 UTC ]
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Qian Julie Wang’s debut memoir Beautiful Country is a compelling and intimate portrait of an undocumented childhood. Much like Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, we are carried into the heart and mind of a child: this time, a young, undocumented girl in... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-03-10 12:00:00 UTC ]
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In the memoir North to Paradise, Ousman Umar tells the story of his migration from rural Ghana to urban Europe, a five-year journey that took him across 11 countries. These years are so eventful and rife with suffering that just one could be a book unto itself: Ousman is exploited in Accra;... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-10 09:50:30 UTC ]
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T.E. Lawrence’s memoir of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire -- the basis for “Lawrence of Arabia” — offers a sweeping look at war and its consequences. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-09 13:00:57 UTC ]
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At the Chicago Review of Books, Meghan O’Rourke discusses The Invisible Kingdom, a mix of memoir and research that investigates chronic illness through multiple lenses. “My work as a poet helped shape this book,” she explains. “I didn’t want it to be merely a work of reportage; I wanted to... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-03-07 21:30:33 UTC ]
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Meghan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom takes you inside the world of being chronically ill. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2022-03-03 22:44:06 UTC ]
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The novelist Kathryn Davis’s personal and time-shuffling new book, “Aurelia, Aurélia,” is about the death of her husband. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-03-02 10:00:08 UTC ]
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The novelist Kathryn Davis' memoir, 'Aurelia, Aurélia," is a Virginia Woolf-inspired whoosh of experiences in the aftermath of her husband's death. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-01 18:31:42 UTC ]
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Playwright and actor Harvey Fierstein reveals how a chubby gay kid from Brooklyn became a Broadway powerhouse and LBGTQ crusader. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-01 14:00:34 UTC ]
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In her new book, Amy Bloom writes about loving her husband and helping him to end his life after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-03-01 10:59:23 UTC ]
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Bethanne Patrick's March picks include works by Bob Odenkirk and Elena Ferrante, as well as an Indigenous punk memoir and magical African allegories. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-02-28 14:00:38 UTC ]
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Tell me about it, stud: Here are 12 exciting upcoming 2022 memoirs full of hot goss and amazing stories for you to add to your TBRs, including Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-02-28 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Until I was five years old, my mother and I lived with her parents in Flatbush, Brooklyn. We never talked about my father. We never said his name, which meant that we never said my full name, Sherry Zimmerman. I first saw my full name written out in an inscription in a children’s alphabet book […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-28 09:49:55 UTC ]
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In “One Damn Thing After Another,” the former attorney general suggests that Republicans move past Donald Trump and his “madcap rhetoric,” but saves his harshest words for the former president’s critics. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-02-27 19:50:52 UTC ]
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Understanding the Ukraine crisis: a comprehensive reading list on Russia, Ukraine, and the rise of Vladimir Putin. | Lit Hub History Jane Pek considers Pride and Prejudice, the gay marriage movement, and the choice to marry. | Lit Hub Memoir Why Ed Simon mentally crosses his fingers when saying,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-26 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Jane Goodall joins the L.A. Times Book Club to discuss 'The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-02-25 23:21:39 UTC ]
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The awards recognize outstanding literary achievements in 12 categories, with winners to be announced at USC in-person on April 22. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-02-23 14:00:04 UTC ]
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'Wall Street Journal' reporter John West is bringing a debut memoir to Eerdmans; Kar-Ben takes a picture book biography of 19th century leader, Rabbi Wise; and Convergent nabs a young astronaut’s inspiring story. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Pop star’s memoir was subject of a massive bidding war, and comes weeks after she sent a cease-and-desist letter to her sister over her own autobiographyBritney Spears has landed a “record-breaking” publishing deal for a tell-all memoir about her rise to fame, her relationship with her family... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-02-22 01:12:57 UTC ]
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In the wake of the end of Britney Spears's 13 year long conservatorship, she is writing her own tell-all memoir. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-02-21 19:29:55 UTC ]
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