Memoir Review: Topics (with Prompts)

These are the four types of memoir we’ve discussed in this class in synchronous and asynchronous sessions. For the Memoir Assignment, you are choosing one of the four types below. Each has a prompt or prompts to help you get started. You are encouraged to develop what you’ve already written in class, but you can also use the prompts to start again.

1. 1. Writing Memoir to Un-silence the Silences in Our Lives
      Prompt: Writing Memoir to Un-Silence our Silences
      Example: Sakinah Hofler: How to Use Creative Writing to Bear Witness
   2. Writing about Your Relationship with Money
      The Prompts: Writing about Your Relationship with Money
      Examples: 1) Junot Diaz, “The Money” 2) Roxane Gay Financial Independence: The Most Important Thing a Woman Can Do for Herself  3) Refinery 29 Money Diaries
   3. Writing about Your Relationship with Your Name
      The Prompts: Writing the Story of Your Name
      Examples: 1) Việt Thanh Nguyen, “America Say My Name”;  2) Beth Nguyen, “America Ruined My Name for Me” ; 3) “What’s In A Name?: A Lot As It Turns Out” (article); 4) Mohamed Hassan-(un)LEARNING MY NAME (video)
   4. Writing the Micro-Memoir and Braided Essay
      Prompt: Writing the Micro-Memoir and Braided Essays
      Examples: Brenda Miller’s “Swerve”; Michael Komatsu’s “When We Played”; Examples of Micro-Memoirs