joanne burns at the Memoir Club for Readers and Writers

Poet joanne burns joins up to talk about memoir or autobiographical moments that sometimes influence her work, in conversation with Barbara Brooks. Joanne is an accomplished poet and one of the best social satirists we have, with a subtle but wicked sense of humour. She's a legend - Spineless Wonders have just named their prose-poem award after her. http://shortaustralianstories.com.au/ joanne is going to treat us to short readings from her work too.  The Memoir Club is a communal space to meet other writers and readers and converse about all things to do with reading and writing memoir. Meetings on the last Tuesday of every month, at the Randwick Literary Institute. Delicious food from Rosada's Kitchen. Memoir Club Meeting:                 Tuesday, 25 June 2013 Randwick Literary Institute RSVP (please say whether you would like some food) joanne burns in conversation with Barbara Brooks About the Memoir Club: a meeting place for readers and writers  When: last Tuesday of every month (30 July, 27 August, 24 September etc.)  Time: 6 - 8.30 PM  Where: The Randwick Literary Institute, 60 Clovelly Road, Randwick NSW 2031 Tel: 02-9398 5203 (for directions and venue info). Street parking is available. Clovelly bus 339 on the doorstep. For how to get there, see: http://randwickliteraryinstitute.com.au/faqs/ What: A communal space to meet other writers and readers and converse about all things to do with reading and writing memoir. We are interested in all kinds of life stories and in different ways of telling them. The genre of life writing and the possibilities of expanding and reworking the genre is exciting to us. Therefore we have a somewhat open and inclusive approach to what makes a memoir, and we hope you do too! Here is a space to connect with others and share ideas, questions and just hang out. Each meeting will start off with a talk, conversation or discussion about a particular topic or book, sometimes with a guest speaker or facilitator, then we move to an informal gathering and catch up. Donation: $10 at the door for hall hire, refreshments and speakers. Food: $15 for a plate of delicious vegan finger food from Rosada's Kitchen (different each meeting). Future Speakers: Drusilla Modjeska (The Mountain), Mary Zournazi (on filmmaker Agnes Varda), Patti Miller (The Mind of a Thief) and Adam Aitken (Eighth Habitation) will join us at future sessions to talk about their memoirs or the memoir aspects of their work. RSVP: Please RSVP to Beth at bywritingworks@gmail.com for room and catering purposes Look forward to seeing you there! Please do pass information on to anyone who might be interested in this community gathering.   mem·oir   /ˈmemˌwär/ Noun A historical account or biography written from personal knowledge. An autobiography or a written account of one's memory of certain events or people. "I wrote stories from the time I was a little girl, but I didn't want to be a writer. I wanted to be an actress. I didn't realise then that it's the same impulse. It's make-believe. It's performance."                                   —Joan Didion “I have written a memoir here and there, and that takes its own form of selfishness and courage.”                                         —Peter Carey "First person narrative, memoir in particular, is like jazz; largely about the player, about where he riffs and scats, and how and why ... As with jazz, the more specific and heartfelt the performance, the deeper and wider its impact. ... as writers of nonfiction in the first person, we get to play, to scat, to take the solo, to emphasize the elements that ring true for us, to slide past the ones that don't. A writer of memoir takes on personal history—that's her script, her score—and uses her voice to inform those remembered events and to make them her own. She's obligated to tell the truth, and she's obligated to tell it her way."                                 —Dinah Lenney Copyright © 2013 Beth Yahp, All rights reserved. Apologies for cross-posting, and please do let me know if you would like to be removed from this list. Also do let me know if you've been forwarded this email and would like to be added to the list of notifications about upcoming Memoir Club and other writing, teaching and touring events. Thanks.