Style is one way to corral unruly memories and, at the same time, acknowledge that the most interesting thing about them may be that they do not cohere. In the 20th century, Marcel Proust provides the model for this way of writing an autobiography, so that many of the best memoirs read as much like modernist novels as acts of self-revelation. Nabokov's Speak, Memory is among his most intricately patterned and deceptive books. Its motifs recur with exquisite tact and timing; a particular slant of summer light, a child holding his father's hand in the park. But despite its perfection, the pattern fails to reconcile the author's idyllic Russian childhood and his exiled adult self. Or take Roland Barthes's peculiar critical study of his own life and career, entitled Roland Barthes, in which he reflects on fragments of his past: family photographs, medical records from his time in a TB sanatorium, lists of his likes and dislikes. 'It must all be considered,' he writes, 'as if spoken by a character in a novel.'
'In Memoriam' by Brian Dillon, in 1000 Books to Change Your Life, Time Out.
Today - just those phrases - a particular slant of summer light, a child holding his father's hand in the park - made me tumble back to some of my first memories.
Tell me a story - who held your hand in sunlight? How old were you? Where were you? What were you wearing? What were you called and who called you? How did you feel?
500 - 1000 words - post your stories as doc attachments to:
catherinebATgippstafeDOTvicDOTeduDOTau
Best entry wins a small prize! (This will not be money, don't get too excited!)
This competition is open to all blog readers, not just gippstafe students. Make sure your entry is your own original work, has your name and address on it and does not exceed the word limit. Closing date: 25th March 2010. Good luck everyone!style="font-weight:bold;">
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