Why Memoir
Ever since the birth of memoir, naysayers have reduced the genre to catharsis and its writers to navel-gazers. And as the body of literature is being populated by more women and marginalized writers, the accusations have grown louder and dismissals more frequent. It is no mystery that advocacy for the art we create is inherently feminist.
The truth we protect is this: our narratives drive connection, amplify silenced voices, and inspire us to author our own lives.
Reema Zaman: “Writing, for me, means freedom.”
Dana Mich: “I want [women’s] self-evident truths. Their declarations of personhood.“
Athena Dixon: “Navels gave us life”.
More words we love:
Melissa Febos: “The Heart Work: Writing About Trauma as a Subversive Act“
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “The Danger of a Single Story“
Terese Mailhot: “Surviving Racism Through Storytelling“
T Kira Madden: “Against Catharsis: Writing is Not Therapy“
Marissa Korbel: “Down Girl“
Lilly Dancyger: “Personal Narratives in the Trump Era“
Zoe Bossiere: “On the Value of Women’s Memoir“
