This year, the iconic American doll Barbie and her male counterpart Ken are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary. Never the types to miss an iconic event, SMITH Six-Word Memoirists distill what it meant, and still means, to grow up with Barbie, for better and for worse. Click on each writer’s name for more of his or [...]

Hurricane Irene’s wrath left many parts in her path not as bad as expected, President Obama jobs speech left many wondering who they elected, and the tenth anniversary of 9/11 left the world reflective. Through rain and shine, SMITH Magazine’s passionate community of storytellers distilled their lives and the world around them in six well-chosen [...]

SMITH Magazine is taking part in the awesomely cool and fun Lit Crawl—basically a downtown New York bar hop of lots of literary readings, events, and slams of every description. We’ll be at the White Slab Palace (77 Delancey St.) from 8:15-9pm where storytellers will share their Six-Word Memoirs, some with “stories behind the [...]

A few weeks ago, SMITH and PBS’s weekly newsmagazine program, Need To Know, asked you to share your Six-Word Memoirs about 9/11—what you remember from that day, its impact, or anything you would like to express, in six concise words, as the tenth anniversary approaches.
Here are a few of the Six-Word Memoirs on September 11 [...]

We’ve wrapped up our summer-long “Six Words About Work” contest with the consulting group Mercer and think of no better way to roll into Labor Day than to announce the three winners of the final challenge, “Best Lesson I Learned at Work,” each of whom win either an iPad2 or BlackBerry PlayBook.
U.S. Winner—Melesha Owen, “Press [...]

If life had a catch phrase it might read: “Ready or not…here I come.”
Life comes at us hard, and fast, and we inevitably lose some things during the chaos of the daily grind. Whether it’s keys, a job, youth or a loved one, we all experience loss along the way.
While satirically minded SMITH writers choose [...]

As Challenge #4, “Biggest lesson I learned at work,” continues through August 27, we’re thrilled to announce three winners of Six Words About Work Challenge #3: The Best Boss I Ever Had.
U.S. Winner—George Sosa, “Promoted truth, justice and eventually, me.”
George is a Brooklyn-bred, now Queens, NY-based video cameraperson and editor, primarily doing documentary work. [...]

August rolls along, the summer heat intensifies, and the debates surrounding the upcoming election heat up. SMITH writers use heat to describe body heat, the outdoor climate, and ways to cook without too much effort. Heat is a powerful force, evoking memories and setting things “on fire.” Yet the Heat (both the weather and the [...]

We’re halfway through “Six Words About Work,” a special challenge from SMITH Magazine and Mercer consulting that asks you, in exactly six words, to define four areas of your work life. Challenge #3 is almost always interesting and nearly inescapable: bosses. In six words, we want to know about the best boss you’ve ever had, [...]

This past week, fans mourned the loss of Amy Winehouse, the Norway attacks shocked the world, and the nation waited–and waited–for a debt deal. Sadness, frustration, and anger were common themes in the headlines and in this week’s Six-Word Memoirs. Below are the best stories of the week. For more, click on each of the [...]