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SIX WORD MEMOIRS

"One life. Six words. What's yours?"

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LANGUAGE: THE DRESS OF THOUGHT

Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith are the editors of an on-line storytelling community called "Smith Magazine," and of the book "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure." They tell Anne Strainchamps how they got started soliciting six-word memoirs, recite some of their favorites, and say that crafting them can become an addiction.

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LISTENER RESPONSES:

Hi,
I'm a high school teacher at Sand Creek High School in Colorado Springs, CO. I really enjoyed your show about the book with the 6-word memoirs, and decided to share it with my English as a Second Language (ESL) class. These are students (ages 14-16) who have come from other countries and are learning English as a new language. I thought you might enjoy some of their responses:
3 cultures cannot fit into 1
Love my birds, hate the mess
15 and unable to say no
School was life, now dance is
Always in love with someone else
Head: who cares? You do, stupid!
15 years without forgiveness from father
Not easy to walk through crowds
I'll do my best on anything
Soccer only thing until I die

Only 15 years old and they have a lot to say. They really surprised me!
Thanks for giving me the idea. I think it really gave them a different way to reflect on their lives.
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Never lonely Dogs fill all voids

Susan - Traverse City Michigan - where I reside with Aleeta, Abby, Kiera and Skippy

ps I enjoy your show immensely

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THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO...Period

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Hi. My name is Mark. I listen to your show every week on Sunday morning on the Texas Public Radio station, KSTX. I enjoyed your show last week about the six-word memoirs.

Here's my six-word memoir: Proving people wrong throughout my life.

Thanks!
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A mere six words?

Not enough.

Don - Bayfield, WI
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Ruth: I just finished listening to a discussion on To The Best Of Our Knowledge about six-word memoirs. At the conclusion, listeners were encouraged to send in their own six-word memoirs to the ttbook.org site. I went there, but couldn't find a link or address to make my submission. So I'm making it here:

"Still trying to get it right"

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The six word memoir show really resonated with me and got me to thinking about mine personal memoir.
After some thought and focusing on what defines my life (for me perhpas not for others) I cam up with this:

Ruth; the lense that focus' life.

Which speaks to how much love and purpose my wife, Ruth, has to me. Ruth makes everything more "real" for me. Life for me is simply sharper, clearer, and more fun when Ruth and I are together.

Keep up the great programming!
SIncerely,
Bill - Oswego, IL
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After listening to your bit on TTBOOK, we came up with these:

" debutante deadhead treads snow wearing sandals
" bicycling to ultimate in aloha shorts
" not afraid to wear orange fur


We even saw a cheesy marketing billboard for a movie using the 6 word format:

" I'm so over you, Sarah Marshall

And here's our 6 word signature:
Ken and Lindsay Joye, Palo Alto
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Marta: The 6-word memoir of the besneakered lady should be
"Kinda sort of upspeak, you know?"
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I sat in the car in the middle of a busy days listening to this story, jotting down some of the ones I heard and finally creating my own.

Childhood Trauma Scars. Recovery Brings Joy. Thank you, Laurie

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Okay, having just heard the interview with the authors of "Smith" (??), here is my submission:
Never able to complete anything.
Regards,
John

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Really enjoyed this piece. My six:

Kept thinking I would, but haven't.

It started out "but didn't," but that seemed too final & did not leave room for hopefulness.

Susan - Tulsa, OK

P.S. My signature brought to mind another one - not so much a life summary, but hopefully more temporary, I could say:
Stuck in Tulsa. Hopefully not forever.
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Jim, this whole broadcast has dovetailed together, what a magnificent morning.

Six words out of memory:

(A couple variations, as the cornstalk concept may require translation)

Michigan winter, foundation cuddled in cornstalks.

Michigan winter, cornstalks lean on house.

Michigan spring, galoshes, sloshes, puddle fun.

Michigan summer, cows cool, creekside moos.

Michigan fall, hurry harvest, smelling snow.


Neat concept. Thanks from a homesick Missourian about
a homeplace long gone. & I've lived on THIS "retirement" apple acreage
longer than I did in Michigan, but Michigan as WAS still lives.

Leona, Bourbon, Mo., b. 1931, Pontiac, Michigan
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Thank you for this piece. I'm staying home from
church today. Not sick--I just do that from time to
time.

Who am I? I am a 46 year old Black man, whose
anniversary was yesterday (22 years). We have 3 good
kids, and one is about to start college. I used to be
a Drama teacher but lost my career when I fought off a
juvenile felon who attacked me first. Now I work in a
government call center and I earn $19,000 per year. I
have two Masters Degrees, $60,000 in unpaid student
loans, $10,000 in other debt, on top of my home
mortgage.

Am I bitter? Nah. I can still ride bikes with my
kids, work in my garden (on land next door that
actually belongs to a large papermill company; they
don't care), and I still have my books and NPR. I'm a
Conservative Republican who will absolutely vote for
Obama (we need to get out of Iraq and spend money here
at home).

Anyway, here"s my memoir:

"Not all smart people are successful"

Thomas - Tallahassee, FL.

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Life is funny. It's no joke.
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Robert: Topsy turvy life. Learned Eskimo Roll.
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Long interesting road, many correct turns.

Kevin - Hoyleton, IL
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My six words reflecting my brilliant successes, utter failures, and seeing old acquaintances:

"yes it's me, I'm that guy"

- B.A., Manhattan Beach, CA
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Here's mine:

"Sought: passion, flavor, words, reckless abandon."

I'm only 24, so the past tense seems a bit affected...maybe it should be "Round One: Ellen - 1, Complacency - Zero"

From:
Ellen
London, UK (and occasionally St. Paul, MN)
My dad wants me to add his for him:

"Hand picked nose, vegetables, and friends"
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STAFF CHALLENGE

Given how popular the 6 word memoir idea has become, I suggest we each contribute one of our own.

I’ll start:

Rocked and rolled, but radio’s best.

Caryl in Madison, WI (our tech director)

Ps: and don’t forget the the show itself is one! ”To The Best Of Our Knowledge”

--

There’s got to be something more.

(which sums up my attitude toward everything from the afterlife to my credit card)

Anne S.

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Jim:

Ask Me Later. I'll Know More.

--

And from Charles:

Here, bite on this:

Yet, some suicides are never recorded.

Believed. Didn’t believe. Believed again. Repeat.

--

Steve:

Wow, these are getting DEEP.

Here’s my more prosaic offering:

Searching, still restless, but not unhappy.

--

MLF:

Here’s one that’s true, but not too revealing.

Started over, as needed, with cats.

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From Wanda in Minnesota:
Left booze and found a wig.
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Laughter. Love. Kids. Writing. Yoga. Outdoors.

I'm leaving my full-time job three months from now, as an early quasi-retiree. In some ways I'm most excited about being able to go outdoors when I want. Part of my inspiration for appreciating nature, and for a lot else, comes from Wendell Berry's classic book Jayber Crow. Jayber didn't know you had a six-word limit, so his is seven: " I try not to miss good things."

trying not to miss good things :)
Mary
St. Paul, MN
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A while back I was diagnosed as "D.I.D." (If you "Google" multiple personalities and click on "Wikipedia's D.I.D." link you'll find an explanation. I say things that I don't even think, much less know that I"ve said them. It has destroyed my personal and professional lives and I live in fear of what I might say next. It's a level of hell that Dante couldn't have imagined as I love to talk and laugh with friends and others.

Although I labor over my haikus, I wrote the following within five minutes of your program:

I tell lies I don't hear.

I live a life, a lie.

Although very sad, I haven't cried.

Tom
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As I was listening, I tried to come up with a very serious but true life in six words. My first try is this:

Found Prince Charming, live everafter...happily.

But as I thought about it, I decided that this might be just as good...if not better for those who know me. I think it says it all.

I still can't find my keys.


Sara - Lake Geneva, WI
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From Daniel:
scoreboards railroads felines chrysler glassware $tipend

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“Still waiting to sell my house”
Ros in Wisconsin

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From "Moonreader"

Fat. Thin. Fat. Thin. Fat again.

Soup, salad, bread, cheese, pie, coffee.

Up all night; slept all day.

How could I live without radio?

Probably late to my own funeral.

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From Leah:
I was really struck by your piece on six word memoirs. Ideas started to fly around in my head immediately. How would I summarize my life? Here are my submissions, though I couldn't settle on just one. I'll list my favorite first:

Fiber lover gets fingers tangled everywhere.

Intellectual discovers life and art while mothering.
Loner forced into life by motherhood.

Introvert speared by love, motherhood, art.

Discovered life and art in motherhood.

Mother keeps together body and soul.

Craft lover turned knitter, felter, spinner.

I just finished writing a blog post on the topic. Can't wait to read the comments that come my way. Thanks for a great show and terrific program!

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Student, Soldier, Artist, Husband, Father, Grandfather.

Not content to leave well enough (Wow, that’s another one although slightly plagiarized) here are a couple potential obits. Writing your own 6 word obit could be another complete book.

Grand entrance. Full life. Sad Exit.

Was an it. Now an exit.

This is addicting,

Got to quit before I die.

Pat

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My inexplicable good fortune: this life

Though impossible to believe, its true.

Can never have too many shoes.

I crave a view over water.

Red desert rocks call my soul.

Just hole up with books, music.

Why botherr? Just buy more socks.

Rebecca
Wife, mother, poet, artist, reader, optimist. _____________________________________________________________________________

Horrifying truth at 42: completely ordinary.

Regina - Chicago
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WANT TO ADD YOUR OWN SIX WORD MEMOIR? send it to flemingj@wpr.org

Websites:

• -- Rachel Fershleiser, Larry Smith SMITH Magazine
  "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous
  and Obscure"
  http://www.smithmag.net/sixwordbook/
  http://www.smithmag.net/
  http://www.smithmag.net/about/team/
  

Distribution dates: week of 03/16/2008 - hour 1

Click here to listen to the whole show Listen!

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

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