Friday, July 27, 2018

With a Little Help from My Friends


Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key


            I spent a week on San Juan Island in mid-June. Every morning I sat at a small table in a lovely guesthouse perched on a hill, with a panoramic view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Canada only eight miles in the distance. Laptop open, I dug deep, at peace in the solitude and beauty surrounding me.
            When my writer friend offered me this solitary writing retreat, I grabbed at it with both hands, grateful for the time and place to complete the draft of my latest memoir project. My friend was the perfect host. She left me alone. I wrote from early morning until late afternoon, when it was time for a shared dog walk and dinner. By week’s end, the draft was complete.
The Ex-Mexican Wives Club is the story of my ex-pat years in Mexico City in the early 1980s intertwined with the story of reconnecting with the women I once knew there thirty-five years later. Each of these women is an integral part of the story about a time that left an indelible mark on all of us. I know I have opened Pandora’s box of memories, not only for myself, but for all of us by writing this memoir.
From the small table perched on the hill, I sent the completed draft to seven women inviting each to share any comments, concerns, corrections she may have. Then, I packed my bags, caught the ferry, and headed for home. Within days, I had heard from most of the seven and my heart sang with delight.
As another writer friend told me: That’s what memoir writing is all about. That’s what this memoir is – the threading together of your life. Her comment made me think of the story quilts Sue Monk Kidd describes in The Invention of Wings. The creation of memoir through patches of cloth, images to tell stories, images threaded together in much the same way a memoirist threads story and creates images through words on the page.
I may not be able to stitch a straight line or sing in tune, but I certainly could not get by without the help of my friends.

Monday, July 16, 2018

Australia Reads Citadel

Writer and teacher, mentor and friend, Jack Remick is featured in an exclusive interview with Jasmina Siderovski for the Australian publication, eYs Magazine.

Jack Remick is a award-winning poet, short story writer, and novelist. Citadel is his latest work. This is an interview I'm sure will be of interest to readers and writers alike. It begins ...

Click here to read the complete interview. You'll need to flip through the magazine to pages 51-57, but it's well-worth the effort. Enjoy!
 

Friday, July 6, 2018

Do You Have a Story to Tell?

Have life events left indelible marks? Do you feel the urge to examine and voice those experiences? What's holding you back?
Memoir  is important to me - writing about memory, writing about memoir writing, writing about reading memoir. Most recently I posted a piece I prepared for a Seattle coffee shop reading: Memoir and Why I Do It. It makes sense then, that when Andrea Murray interviewed me for her blog, my thoughts turned toward memoir.

On Facebook, Andrea writes: Join Arleen as she talks about facing her fears, not asking for permission, and keeping the ideas flowing.