Memoirville

Memoirs In Progress Archive

“It’s a Hard Knock Life”—an excerpt from Camp Camp

Sunday, June 15th, 2008

An excerpt from Camp Camp: Where Fantasy Island Meets Lord of the Flies, a big book of essays, photos, and braces edited by Roger Bennett and Jules Shell. Read more about the people behind Camp Camp here.
“We filed into the mess hall. I looked hopefully for the rebels. There they were, sitting like sisters at [...]

Dogs. Diapers. Brisket. A Passover Story

Monday, April 21st, 2008

Anyone who just enjoyed, or possibly survived, their family’s Passover Seder this past weekend can relate to SMITH member Mia’s essay in My Life So Far. Her story, Family Time, is ostensibly about coming home for the holidays and discovering that her sister’s bulldog is wearing a diaper (and who hasn’t been there?), but really [...]

Green Girl Greets the New Year at the Eco-Inn

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

(read the first installment of Green Girl at the Eco-Inn here)
Though the season is technically over, I’ve decided to stay open year round. Why not? The people are lovely and my sanity is intact. As this venture has proved fiscally viable, I’m also exploring ways to expand the inn.
This will involve renting my [...]

EXCERPT from RED: The Next Generation of American Writers—Teenage Girls—On What Fires Up Their Lives Today

Saturday, December 15th, 2007

RED: The Next Generation of American Writers–Teenage Girls–On What Fires Up Their Lives Today is a remarkable collection of essays. The stories, 58 in all, are a bold and brassy ride across the seemingly unmappable territory that is the mind of the female teen. When I had the pleasure to hear six of these girls [...]

“Negative Energy” by Nancy Matson

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

Nancy Matson has published a number of short stories in literary magazines as well as a middle-grade novel, The Boy Trap. She is now at work on Workin’ It, a collection of essays about her numerous jobs. “Negative Energy” is of these essays. If you’re a fan of pointless suffering, sexual inappropriateness, and invasive insects, [...]

Gonzo Girl—”I Was Hunter S. Thompson’s Assistant”

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

By Cheryl Della Pietra

“A day without fun is a day that eats shit.” —Hunter S. Thompson, circa 1992
In 1998, as the movie version of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas was about to be released, Cheryl Della Pietra wrote a story for P.O.V. Magazine about her experience serving as Thompson’s [...]

“I Was a Nude Model” By Cole Kazdin

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

Cole Kazdin is a writer and performer and author of the one-women show, My Year in Porn.
My friend Kelly needed a nude model. She was profiling an artist for a TV segment she was producing and needed someone for him to paint. Nude. I was not at the time, nor have I ever been [...]

Interpreting Comedy by Barbara Neal Varma

Sunday, August 19th, 2007

A blast of music called patrons down to their seats and me to my set place on stage. Spotlights flooded the area, dancing dizzily against the backdrop before finally resting on me and the empty microphone standing ominously to my right. I stood perfectly still, my hands tense and ready at my side like a [...]

Green Girl at the Eco Inn

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

The ongoing adventures of one woman’s decision to chuck it all, go for broke, and open up an ‘eco B&B’ in Woodstock, NY.
By Megan Reynolds
Check out Megan Reynolds’ Flickr stream of shots from her life at the B&B.
I. This Old House
Six months ago, I moved into my family’s vacation house in Woodstock, New York. [...]

Liberated Body, Captive Mind: A POW’s Story of Survival by Norman Bussel

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

If you’re a regular Memoirville reader, the last name Bussel makes you think of a lovely book nerd who asks memoirists the most insightful questions around. Well, drop all your expectations, because Norman Bussel is a lovely, 83-year-old veteran with an amazing story to share and the talent to tell it well. Below is an [...]

 
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