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When Memory Speaks: Exploring the Art of Autobiography
J ill Ker Conway, one of our most admiredautobiographers--author of The Road from Coorain and True North--looks astutely and with feeling into the modern memoir: the forms and styles it assumes, and the strikingly different ways in which men and women respectively tend to understand and present their lives.
In a narrative rich with evocations of memoirists over the centurie ...more
In a narrative rich with evocations of memoirists over the centurie ...more
Paperback
,
224 pages
Published
February 22nd 1999
by Vintage
(first published 1998)
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Community Reviews
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Feminist literary theory that, while exceptionally lucid and well argued, left with me a feeling of "and so?" Perhaps I'm too deeply immersed in this field and the idea of agency - choosing one's life - to appreciate the scholarship. I did read the book avidly and quickly, and I loved each summary of the various lives.
This is an inspiring book, that approaches memoir not just as an intellectual exercise but as a way to exert ownership over your life. I particularly liked her interpretations of memoirs i've recently read, such as The Liar's Club.
I was taken aback by the opening sentence; "Why is autobiography the most popular form of fiction for modern readers?" Fiction? But I continued because the author is obviously erudite. Then on page 6 the author writes, "When, for instance, we encounter a world of arranged marriages, we see the Western conventions of romantic love differently and begin to ask ourselves where those romantic feelings come from. . ." so far so good in my opinion, "since in another culture they simply do not occur."
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I love how she she depicts our life as a plot made up of many elements which we control, and some that we choose not to.
In depth study of writing memoir and the memoirs that started the genre. I found many insights that will have to be explored in more detail and enjoyed the commentary of what is out there, how we got to where we are, and where we may be going in telling our stories. Very useful and informative. I'll be reading this again and keeping it in my library as reference.
I liked the book, which relates to form and style of modern memoir in understanding and presenting lives.
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Jill Ker Conway, AC (born 9 October 1934) is an Australian-American author. Well known for her autobiographies, in particular her first memoir, The Road from Coorain. She was also Smith College's first woman president, from 1975–1985, and now serves as a Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2004 she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women
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