Across the world, students, teachers, churches, and nonprofits organizations with names like the Hypoparathyroidism Association (devoted to helping folks with a rare medical disorder) have used the six-word memoir to inspire, encourage, and even help heal. We love hearing how six-word memoirs find their way into lives and organizations.

We just heard from the New York-based Writopia Lab, a community of young writers, ages 9-19, who come together to develop short stories, journalistic pieces, personal essays, poetry, and dramatic and comedic scripts. In other words, these kids love storytelling in its many shapes and forms. Founder Rebecca Wallace-Segall recently sent over an incredible list of six-word memoirs from Writopia, many of which are featured on our new SMITH Teens site and will find their way into our forthcoming book of six-word memoirs by teens. “They loved developing these,” emailed Wallace-Segall. “Many have been featured on your site over the last weeks. It means so much to us and to them. Thank you especially for creating such a meaningful (and fun) literary event.”

From “”Cried hard on the indifferent bed” to “She’s blind, we love to talk” to “Grandma’s blue veins emboss her skin” the words from the Writopia kids are personal, insightful, and poignant—exemplifying all that’s possible when teens take the six-word memoir challenge. On October 14, Writopia’s six-word memoirists will be reading at the Barnes & Noble in the NYC’s West Village, and nine others will be reading excerpts from their short stories and memoirs. After the jump, read what emerged from the minds of 16 teens, six words at a time. Read more »

Theatre troupe The Anthropologists are among the wide variety of folks creating their own six-inspired projects. Here are some pictures from their last community-based performance—a play written on the spot from the six-word memoirs of audience members. New Yorkers can be a part of it this Saturday in Washington Heights.

If you’re in the New York area, stop by the Brooklyn Book Festival on Sunday. Larry and I are chatting about the Six-Word Memoirs phenom
that inspired and launched projects cross the word. We’ll be found at the South Stage, 3pm. But stick around before and after to soak up all the Brooklyn litness: from Jonathan Franzen to Terry McMllian, there will be dozens of terrific writers to see, as well, and booths to visit all day long. Looking for a conversation starter? try, “So what’s your six-word memoir?” Trust us, it always works. (Shameless plug: stop by the Housing Works Bookstore table for all your book-buying needs.)

When South Texas English teachers Adriana Castillo Solis and Stephanie Sauceda heard about Six-Word Memoirs, they immediately thought of their students. Nine classes at Pharr San Juan Alamo North High School studied the book, wrote their own memoirs, and created accompanying painting, photos, or collages.

Adriana writes “Initially, our project seemed like just a fun thing to do but it ended up being something with tremendous power that had a great impact on many of the students and parents. We literally had some students cry when they were working on their project. It was a powerful experience for them to go through and for us as their teachers to witness.”

The teachers then organized a gallery show and invited family and friends to see the art, commemorating the success of the event with a t-shirt adorned with all the memoirs.

Below, see the shirt and a small selection of the students’ work:

“Shattered, mended restored; rewind, press play.” -Krystal Ramirez, 11th Grade
“Name David, but feel like Goliath” -David Serna, 10th Grade
“I strongly believe in my dreams.” -Jennifer Guerrero, 11th Grade
“I’m a genius with a headache.” -Atalie Gonzalez, 10th Grade
“Millions of emotions – not enough space…” -Olivia Losoya, 11th Grade
“Living life hidden prevents being judged.” -Theresa Corona, 11th Grade
“I’m not crazy, just special.” -Joshua Covarrubias, 11th Grade

We love to see our readers take the Six Word Project and run with it—to school, church, or spin class. Saturday, August 30th, a theater group called The Anthropologists is running it all around the park! Join them, and see community playwriting in action.

Eagle-eyed six-word enthusiast John Perkins writes:

I came across these lines in Elizabeth Smart’s By Grand Central I Sat Down and Wept. It’s actually in the second novella, The Assumptions of Rogues & Rascals. Vintage, 1966, p. 175.

Do you insist on vulgar details? Mere gossip? Loathsome gluttony? Very well?

Chapter one: There were born.

Chapter two: They were bewildered.

Chapter three: They loved.

Chapter four: They suffered.

Chapter five: They were pacified.

Chapter six: They died.

Edited for six words:

Birth

Bewilderment

Love

Suffering

Pacification

Death

Thanks John! Best collaboration with a dead Canadian poet I’ve ever read.

Send your own found discoveries or other twists on six to memoirville at smithmag dot net.

SMITH Mag and the Six-Word Memoir project lead a story in Time magazine called “Haiku Nation.” “Like traditional Japanese poetry, the new pop-culture haiku says a lot with few words,” writes Jeremy Caplan. “These days digital eloquence is defined by pithiness. … In the book world, a surprise hit this year has been Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure.” Read the medium-sized and very sweet story at Time.com.

Since we launched the six-word memoir challenge on SMITH in late 2006, amazing things have happened that, literally, were not quite what we were planning, from a reverend in North Carolina who preached six-word prayers to a midwestern book blogger who created a six-word memoir “meme” that still races across hundreds of thousands of personal blogs. But nothing has been as inspiring as the stories of six-word memoirs being taught in classrooms around the world. And it’s one thing to get an email from a high school teacher in Ohio; it’s another to head to school yourself.
Read more »

Our first book of six-word memoirs, Not Quite What I Was Planning, featured life stories from “I’m ten and have an attitude” to “Seventy years, few tears, hairy ears.” Clearly it’s a concept that spans generations. But some of our very favorite responses came from teenagers, those smart, sassy, angst-filled truth-tellers whose lives are changing by the minute. Next year, HarperTeen will publish a six-word memoir book just for them, written by memoirists who are 13 to 19 years old. Are you one? Submit here. Know one? Send them here. Tell all your friendly neighborhood teachers, librarians, scout leaders, youth group facilitators, and real live adolescents. Email (rachel at smithmag dot net) if you and your teens want to get more involved. We’re so excited to publish the next generation of brilliant storytellers, and confident they’ll use the form in ways the rest of us never imagined. Bring it on…

“Wrote a great novel. No sale.” “Quiet, Baby; Mama’s trying to think.” “Greatness costs many things, including privacy.” “Now be honest, and just lie.”

The above are just a few of the nearly 500 submissions to SMITH and Urbis’ “Six Words on the Creative Life,” a reader project launched just a few days ago. Submit your six words on your day job dilemma or other aspect of your artistic soul over at Urbis. And we’ve streamed in some of our favorites here on SMITH.