Summer has a smell, feel, and taste which are all too delicious for an eight-year-old to savor in silence. Ms. Buttiglieri and Ms. Wenning’s third-grade class at Bradford Elementary in Montclair, NJ was bursting at the seams, half-crazed—they needed an outlet that didn’t involve screaming. Paige Kennedy-Piehl stepped in a la Mary Poppins style and worked with the children in small groups to get them to think critically about writing a Six-Word Memoir. We reaped the (adorable) rewards and the teachers got to keep their sanity on the home stretch into sweet, sweet summertime. These six-worders from eight- and nine-year-olds are the perfect start to July. Here are some of our favorites:
“Running for the ice-cream truck outside.” - Charlie Miller, 9
“My life is a good life.” - Jacob Rich, 9
“I am a dreamer of adventures.” - Woody Montilus, 8 Read more »
It’s been said by many, including the editors of SMITH, that a six-word memoir can be a lot like an epitaph, the ultimate summation of one’s life. We’ve always been fascinated by obits of the famous and obscure alike. Now, by popular demand, we’re starting a new reader challenge category: Six-Word Obits. There’s only way way to kick this reader challenge off, and that’s by respectively asking you for your Jackson 6: a six-word obituary for the King of Pop. Leave your entry in the comments section below. Since we set this one loose on Twitter—with six-word maven Mary Elizabeth Williams immediately replying wit “From ABC to PYT to RIP.”—yesterday, we’ve had some great responses.
“King silenced by insulation and prescriptions.”
- Eva
“Force did stop. He got enough.”
- Erin Fitzpatrick
“Survived by family, friends, widespread ambivalence.”
- Christiann
Keep ‘em coming. Our three favorite entries win the six-word memoir book of their choice. The contest ends on Monday, June 29 at 5pm EST. Update! Contest extended to June 30, 5pm EST.
Creative Commons image from Flickr user bernissimo.
SMITH community member miandering continues her global trek, detailing her path (”Senmonorom. Sanctuary for elephants. And me”), impressions (”Phnom Penh. Caution: No traffic laws”), experiences (”Teaching teenage girls challenging, exhausting, rewarding”), and travails (”Visa expired again. Another Vietnam border-run”), in a series of six-word memoirs, many with accompanying images. Then there’s my personal favorite: “No fever. No love. Just jungle.” She’s logged more than 80 six-worders (and counting) since she left the United States on November 5. But if you’ve been following her path of late, you know the road’s been bumpy. Here’s her recent travel diary, told via six-word memoirs, in the order that they appeared:
“Wet flip-flops. Shiny linoleum. Bad combination.”
“Downed in one fell slip. Ouch.”
“Handled crisis with no equanimity whatsoever.”
“Malaysian hospitality unmatched. Hospital? Sadly sub-par.”
“Calm, cool, collected…maybe next time.”
“Kindness of strangers now a necessity.”
“Hoping immobility forces me to write.”
“Another hospital, another cast. Plus crutches.”
And most recently: “Incapacitation yields overabundance of sixes. Sorry.”
Everyone at SMITH wishes miandering a speedy recovering, and are delighted to name her the Six-Word Memoirist of the Day. Her six fix is a beautiful thing.
During a recent conference for l33t hackers and information security industry hotshots, the snapshot method of personal documentation that is the Six-Word Memoir helped the subversively tech-savvy bond. We’ve always believed that six words contains a keen transcendental quality that could reach out to spark the left brain of anyone and everyone. These folks were focused on hardcore security issues and all the 1s and 0s that that implies, the memoirs that sprung from their minds suggest the future of spyware is in quite creative hands. Here are a few of our favorites.
When I first told my coworkers that I’d be flying from Houston to New York to read my six-word memoir, I got various responses, ranging from “That is sooooo cool!” to “You’re flying 2,000 miles to do what?”
Then there was this response, to which I wasn’t sure how to react: “Oh, that’s nice. Have you ever tried chicken liver sandwiches? You have to try one while you’re in New York.” (Did I mention I’ll actually get to go on stage? That’s what I wanted to say, but didn’t.)
My coworker was adamant about the sandwich. No questions about the whole six-word memoir thing (and most people asked for some clarification). Just reminders, throughout the day, that I give her all the details upon my return. ”Details about the chicken liver sandwich,” she was sure to clarify. (Did I mention that Amy Tan would also be reading? That I’d be in the company of literary greatness?) Read more »
A little while ago, the amazing Stephen Elliott invited SMITH to collaborate with The Rumpus and McSweeney’s on a mindblowing variety show to coincide with Book Expo America. The resulting event, You’re Not Alone, was this weekend, and it was a charming beacon of optimism in an insecure moment for the book industry.
SMITH teamed up with truuconfessions and Postcard from Yo Momma for a six-word challenge about all things Mom. Once again, your six words spanned the emotional waterfront from hilarious (”Key West: I’m eight, she’s topless”) to intense (”Loved her. Hated her. Became her”). We have two grand-prize winners. In the MOMoir About Being a Mom” category, Nancy Lenox won the judges’ hearts with, “Two children. Accidents, but not mistakes.” For the MOMoir About Your Own Mom, the top choice is “Screw cancer. Mom went to Paris,” by Leslie Constans. Thanks to everyone who participated. Check out the runners-up and more brilliant MOMoirs after jump. Read more »
At our Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak book reading in Denver a few months ago, we got a chance to meet up with Julian Rubinstein, proud six-word memoirist and author of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts (one of the weirdest, wildest, most wonderful true stories you’ll ever read). A few months later, Rubinstein (pictured here) served as the judge of a six-word memoir contest at Colorado Language Arts Society’s Regional Spring Conference, attended by teachers from the state. The winning entries were read at lunch with young adult author Sharon Draper.
First prize went to Anne Sutton, who gave her six-word memoir a title, “A Daughter’s Demise,” and writes: “Dad lied. The world stopped turning.” Jim Hobbs took second place: “Ran into poetry. Got healed again.” Third place comes from Arita Martucci and demands indentation:
“Dad said, ‘Pharmacist.’
I said, ‘Teacher.’”
Click through to the jump for more A+ six-word memoirs from the good teachers of Colorado. Read more »
We hear a lot from readers who love six-word memoirs because they are clever and make people laugh. As gratifying as that is, sometimes it can mean even more to see the form used as a conduit for something so painful, words are almost impossible. Flickr user and scrapbooker Laura Ann’s beautiful memorial, 17 years in the making:
