Read Online The Art of Memoir Mary Karr 9780062223074 Books
Read Online The Art of Memoir Mary Karr 9780062223074 Books
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Credited with sparking the current memoir explosion, Mary Karr’s The Liars’ Club spent more than a year at the top of the New York Times list. She followed with two other smash bestsellers Cherry and Lit, which were critical hits as well.
For thirty years Karr has also taught the form, winning teaching prizes at Syracuse. (The writing program there produced such acclaimed authors as Cheryl Strayed, Keith Gessen, and Koren Zailckas.) In The Art of Memoir, she synthesizes her expertise as professor and therapy patient, writer and spiritual seeker, recovered alcoholic and “black belt sinner,” providing a unique window into the mechanics and art of the form that is as irreverent, insightful, and entertaining as her own work in the genre.
Anchored by excerpts from her favorite memoirs and anecdotes from fellow writers’ experience, The Art of Memoir lays bare Karr’s own process. (Plus all those inside stories about how she dealt with family and friends get told— and the dark spaces in her own skull probed in depth.) As she breaks down the key elements of great literary memoir, she breaks open our concepts of memory and identity, and illuminates the cathartic power of reflecting on the past; anybody with an inner life or complicated history, whether writer or reader, will relate.
Joining such classics as Stephen King’s On Writing and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, The Art of Memoir is an elegant and accessible exploration of one of today’s most popular literary forms—a tour de force from an accomplished master pulling back the curtain on her craft.
Read Online The Art of Memoir Mary Karr 9780062223074 Books
"I bought Mary Karr's "Liars Club" three years ago when I first began writing my memoir. I loved her writing style and was both inspired and intimidated. I just finished this book and it does such a great job breaking down key components to the craft using examples from Karr's own work as well as works by other authors from classic to contemporary. If you are writing a memoir or thinking about writing one I strongly suggest picking this up. You will learn about the importance of voice and how to find yours and stay true to it. The art of showing, not telling (which is where I need the most help). How to use/select specific details to make scenes feel more carnal and truer to the reader. And get advice on things like how to handle writing about family and topics that may be sensitive to them. You can really tell that the author is a teacher–some chapters feel like they could actually have been taken from a lesson plan–but that's what makes this book so much better than some of the others I've read about writing memoirs that were penned by agents or other industry professional types. This book isn't just a list of general tips/advice. Mary Karr is a true master of the craft and digs deeper, providing examples to give the reader a better understanding. It's almost like sitting in on one of her classes. Which after reading this book, I'd really like to do. I wish this book had come out three years ago before I started writing but now I am using what I learned to revise and edit the manuscript I have. The only negative for me was one or two of the chapters focused too much on a particular author who's style and voice didn't resonate with my taste (Nabokov for example) so I glossed over those pages. But everybody's taste in books are different. That said, in my humble opinion, this is the best book written on the craft of memoir that I have read to date."
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Tags : The Art of Memoir [Mary Karr] on . Credited with sparking the current memoir explosion, Mary Karr’s <em>The Liars’ Club</em> spent more than a year at the top of the New York Times list. She followed with two other smash bestsellers <em>Cherry</em> and <em>Lit</em>,Mary Karr,The Art of Memoir,Harper Perennial,0062223070,Books Reading,Personal Memoirs,BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs,Biography Autobiography/Personal Memoirs,CREATIVE WRITING,GENERAL,General Adult,LITERARY CRITICISM / Books Reading,LITERARY CRITICISM / General,Language Arts Disciplines/Writing - General,Literary Criticism,Literature - Classics / Criticism,Non-Fiction
The Art of Memoir Mary Karr 9780062223074 Books Reviews :
The Art of Memoir Mary Karr 9780062223074 Books Reviews
- I bought Mary Karr's "Liars Club" three years ago when I first began writing my memoir. I loved her writing style and was both inspired and intimidated. I just finished this book and it does such a great job breaking down key components to the craft using examples from Karr's own work as well as works by other authors from classic to contemporary. If you are writing a memoir or thinking about writing one I strongly suggest picking this up. You will learn about the importance of voice and how to find yours and stay true to it. The art of showing, not telling (which is where I need the most help). How to use/select specific details to make scenes feel more carnal and truer to the reader. And get advice on things like how to handle writing about family and topics that may be sensitive to them. You can really tell that the author is a teacher–some chapters feel like they could actually have been taken from a lesson plan–but that's what makes this book so much better than some of the others I've read about writing memoirs that were penned by agents or other industry professional types. This book isn't just a list of general tips/advice. Mary Karr is a true master of the craft and digs deeper, providing examples to give the reader a better understanding. It's almost like sitting in on one of her classes. Which after reading this book, I'd really like to do. I wish this book had come out three years ago before I started writing but now I am using what I learned to revise and edit the manuscript I have. The only negative for me was one or two of the chapters focused too much on a particular author who's style and voice didn't resonate with my taste (Nabokov for example) so I glossed over those pages. But everybody's taste in books are different. That said, in my humble opinion, this is the best book written on the craft of memoir that I have read to date.
- This is far more than a wonderful book about writing memoir. It's like an intimate conversation with an admired professional whose passion is reading and whose vocation is studying how people understand their own lives and choose to reveal them. It is a feast for anyone who loves books (and definitely not just for writers and writing students).
Fans of Mary Karr's three memoirs will find fascinating information about what she left out and why. They will recognize her unique and compelling voice on every page and proceed through the book eager to read what comes next.
She analyzes in helpful detail the authors and works she most admires, often adding fascinating anecdotes about them. She examines some of the high-profile failures as well. Karr shares background stories about her own writing, including the physical toll it has taken.
What I most want to tell you is this. I read this book in one sitting, and when I finish this review I'm going to reread it. Then I'm going to reread Nabokov's "Speak, Memory." I will read anything Mary Karr wants to write. - I love Mary Karr, and I love her work and there is so much that is good and helpful in this book. She writes as she speaks, which I love. But in my oh so humble opinion she also waffles a bit and she's a poet and I'm not, which is my fault not hers. It was worth the read, but I didn't love it. I am in awe of her knowledge and I love how generous she is with it. I laugh that she considers herself such a non academic and maybe compared to many she isn't, but she leaves me for dead that's for sure! I have heard her say, more times than I can count, that nobody made her the boss of memoir ... but that's not true! We all did, and she is, and it's well deserved! She is the boss and the queen )
- “Each great memoir lives or dies based 100-percent on voice.â€
Mary Karr, regarded as the Goddess of writing memoir by those of us hoping one day to write a memoir, has written a book called THE ART of MEMOIR (Harper). Her previous three memoirs, THE LIAR’S CLUB, CHERRY and LIT all have been best sellers and now she offers us a glimpse into the world she knows so well. Karr has taught a graduate seminar at Syracuse University for the last thirty-years and THE ART of MEMOIR is like being admitted into her class and learning the secrets of Karr’s own writing and lots of practical advise.
Karr repeatedly pounds into readers the concept of “carnality,†as being what is most important to bring to the page to make scenes come alive. That a scene needs grounding in details to appeal to the senses.
“Every memoir should brim over with physical experiences that once streamed in the smell of garlickly gumbo, your hand on animal’s fur, the ocean’s phosphor lighting up bodies underwater all acid green.â€
But let’s face it, what many of us want to read in a memoir is juicy controversy and problems that went on in the life of the writer. Was mom really an alcoholic? Did dad beat the family with his belt? Did that bastard neighbor from across the street really steal the monthly check? It’s unfortunate, but happy family stories don’t sell books. We want suffering and self-exposure, betrayals, confessions, family discord and our fighting.
Of course, never is the truth to be compromised. And that’s where is gets tricky. That’s where anyone thinking about writing a memoir would be wise to pick up Mary Karr’s, THE ART of WRITING MEMOIR. It might save you a lot of headaches and perhaps some legal fees. (that’s a joke, this book does NOT offer legal advise)
For all things MARY, check out her website http//www.marykarr.com She’s also on Facebook and Twitter. If you happen to be in South Florida Nov. 14th – 22nd, check out the Miami Book Fair. Mary Karr will be on a panel discussion Saturday, November 21st @ 1130 on the Miami Dade College Campus. Needless to say, I’m thrilled! http//www.miamibookfair.com
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