MEMOIR
PROMPT
What Stays the Same?
In A Three Dog Life, Abigail Thomas writes: “This is the one thing that stays the same: my husband got hurt. Everything else changes. A grandson needs me and then he doesn’t. My children are close then one drifts away. I smoke and don’t smoke; I knit ponchos, then hats, shawls, hats again, stop knitting, start up again.”
Start with the idea: “What Remains the Same?” Write 800-1000 words about what remains the same in your life; include as much detail as possible.
Maureen offers ongoing
memoir writing classes
in Santa Barbara, California.
Thursday mornings
10:00 am -1:00 pm
For more information,
contact Maureen at
805-220-6232
or by email.
“Myth and Memoir”
Weekend Workshop
July 17-18, 2010
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday: 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
UCLA, Los Angeles
In writing and telling our stories, we come to know the deeper pattern of our lives. Perhaps the popularity of memoirs in our culture today reflects the desire to find meaning in the mystery of our lives and to understand our unconscious choices, actions, and dreams. Another reason for the memoir's appeal might well be its mythic power. Myth can be seen as an ordering principle that gives coherence to the way our memories unfold, and the mythic themes of family relationships, quest for identity, love and betrayal, personal sacrifice, and death dominate contemporary memoir writing. This two-day course explores the similarities between memoir and myth and how they function to complement each other. Instruction also examines the structure of myth and specific mythic themes that are used by contemporary memoirists and focuses on the myths that inform your life as you write memoir.
Contact: www.uclaextension.edu/writers
or 310-825-9415
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“The Art of Writing Memoir”
July 30-August 6, 2010
IWWG, The International Women’s Writing Guild “Remember the Magic” 2010 Conference
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
For information and registration: www.iwwg.org
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“Crafting Memoir from Memory”
One-Day Workshop
on Memoir Writing
September 18, 2010
9:00 AM -1:00 PM
Palm Desert, California
For information and registration:
Carol Teitelbaum
760-346-4606
The Heroine’s Journey:
Woman’s Quest for Wholeness
In this workshop, Maureen will explore the nine stages of this psycho-spiritual journey for women which redefines the heroic quest for women. The journey entails an initial separation from feminine values, seeking recognition and success in a masculine-defined world, experiencing spiritual aridity and death, and turning inward to reclaim the power and spirit of the sacred feminine. The final stages involve an acknowledgement of the union and power of one’s dual nature for the benefit of all humankind.
Evolution of the Image
of the Sacred Feminine
If we believe, as C. G. Jung did, that the whole history of the human race is in some ways always alive in the psyche, we can reclaim images of the Divine Feminine, which is an eternal archetype. She has shown herself to us from the earliest times of our civilization in cave paintings and primitive sculptures, in the great mythologies, and she appears in many guises in our present cultures. She is part of the fabric of our very being. In this slide lecture we will look at images of the Divine Feminine throughout recorded history from Paleolithic times to the present to remind us of how she is alive within us today.
Crafting Memoir from Memory
What is true and what do we create from our reminiscences? Beginning with the concept that memory is a particular angle of perception which shapes our sense of identity, we examine how the memories we tell establish our sense of self. It is not the factual truth of our memories that is necessary for crafting them into memoir but the emotional truth of our experience that begins to reveal the underlying patterns of our lives. In this workshop we look at the basic components of memoir writing and the self-reflection required to move a memory into the realm of memoir, as well as the themes explored in published memoirs
Making Meaning
from Myth and Memoir
Memoirists are our contemporary mythmakers. The popularity of memoir in our culture today reflects the universal desire to find meaning in the mystery of our lives and to understand our unconscious choices, actions, and dreams. This workshop includes discussion of the elements of memoir writing, mythic themes, readings of contemporary memoirists and writing exercises to begin the process of writing memoir.
Memoir Writing: Advanced Workshop
This workshop focuses on narrative voice, story, and the meaning the author makes out of the events in her life. Who is the narrator and what language and tone does the narrator choose to convey the sensibility, attitude, and character of the writer? How does the writer select and order the events of her life to create an interesting story and what meaning does she make of these events to find a cohesive theme? Class members will take turns sharing drafts of their memoirs-in-progress, and we discuss craft and content as a part of the process. Come prepared to edit and critique your work.
Fathers’ Daughters: Transforming the Father-Daughter Relationship
One of the most complex and unexplored relationships in a woman’s life is with her father. If their bond is close, she is referred to as “Daddy’s little girl.” As cute as that may sound in childhood, a “father’s daughter” later pays a high price for her favored status. In order to sustain his approval, protection, and love she often distances herself from her mother and rejects her own feminine nature. Her identification with and idealization of the father may serve her well in the outside world but has a long-lasting effect on her ability to express her emotions and creativity and can wreck havoc with her love life. Through discussion, guided imagery, myths, and writing we will explore the complexities of this bond.