Your Life Story in Six Words?

by Alliene Turner

Alliene is an EBSTC member and long-time East Bay resident.

DMV Associate Editor Joe Humbert recently e-mailed me asking, “Have you heard of the six-word memoir? It’s a kick.”

Joe was referring to the National Public Radio (NPR) February 7, 2008 broadcast of Talk of the Nation, which spotlighted a collection of six-word memoirs by famous and not-so-famous people. To quote the NPR transcript, in a “spirit of simple yet profound brevity, the online magazine Smith asked readers to write a story of their lives in a single sentence.”

Here’s a sample from Not Quite What I Was Planning, a collection of six-word memoirs from the editors of Smith Magazine:

“70 years, few tears, hairy ears.” – Bill Querengesser

“Painful nerd kid, happy nerd adult.” – Linda Williamson

“Revenge is living well, without you.” – author Joyce Carol Oates

Joe and I invite East Bay STC members to do a bit of introspection and write your own six-word memoirs. If you need a brain nudge, check out what others are doing at Smith Magazine or at the Bryant Park Project from NPR News.

Send your memoirs by April 15 for publication in the May/June newsletter to me at hairston.turner@gmail.com.