Class 3 Oct 1
READING
1. Read this short craft essay, The Vagaries of Memory
2. Write a short response to The Vagaries of Memory essay (say anything about it and/or pose a question to the other writers) to the comments section of this blog posting. DUE BY FRIDAY OCT 5 AT 6PM
3. Respond to something one of your classmates has written in response to The Vagaries of Memory essay in the comments section of this blog posting. Due BY MONDAY 5PM OCT 8.
4. Read through your classmates' personal blogs and their lists that they created for Class 2.
Cull through the lists and leave them a note in the comments section of their personal blog, the top 3 most compelling items from all of their lists.
What 3 items would you love to read an essay about? Why? What about that story is compelling? What about that story do you want to know more about?
WRITING DUE BY MONDAY 5PM OCT 8
Read through your lists of lists. Find one item that you want to write about. Label a new post on your personal blog with that item and do the following writing exercise:
1. Take the item and write it (by hand on a sheet of notebook paper) on the top of your paper.
For example, I might write "chicken noodle soup made by my mother for me on days I stayed home sick from school." This is taken from my list of Top Ten Meals Made for me with love by someone else
2. Number 1 to 10 every other line on the notebook paper.
3. Set a timer for 4 minutes. Write down the ten images that come to mind that you associate with this item--this can be sounds, memories, tastes, moments, a color--anything specific that you associate or remember about this item.
My list under "chicken noodle soup made by my mother for me on days I stayed home sick from school" would include: damp bedsheets, Channel 56 daytime television, cold medicine, loneliness, the yellow bus driving by the house without me, quiet empty house, dreamless sleep, noodles stuck in the sink drain, sadness because the world seemed dead
4. Stretch and walk around for a minute. Now, return to your writing. Close your eyes and try to imagine yourself back in a specific moment from the image or item that is written at the top of your page.
Once you are able to imagine yourself back in that moment, take notes and gather information about that moment. I encourage you to write this out by hand, but you can write it and post it on your personal blog if you want.
For 7 minutes only, use the following questions as a guide. Not all of them will apply to you, that's fine. Just give it a try:
Where are you?
How old are you?
What are you doing?
Are you inside or outside?
Turn around in the image--what do you see in front of you, to the right of you, behind you, to the left of you, under your feet, and above your head.
What do you smell, taste, feel on your skin, and hear?
What time of year is it?
What time of day or night is it?
What are you afraid of?
What do you want most in all the world at this moment?
What is standing in the way of you getting what you want?
How will you try to get around this obstacle? What tactic will you use to get what you want?
What are you not saying aloud? Why?
5. Look over the notes you've taken. For two minutes, write an outline of what you want to include in the story you're about to write.
6. Set your timer for 7 minutes. Tell the story of this image--of this moment that you have just taken many notes on. Begin your piece with "I am. . . "
Because this is a first draft, it's ok to write this in present tense. You can go back later and change it in revision. But for now, just try to write as much as you can about this image. No detail is too small.
7. Type up what you've written and post it to your personal blog by BY MONDAY 5PM OCT 8.
8 comments:
Comments on 'Vagaries of Memory' Essay
Human memory is inconsistent, unreliable, and influenced by time. Time typically degrades memory. But none of this is surprising. For example, lawyers will find every opportunity to leverage weaknesses in human memory to the advantage of their clients. There’s a physiological basis for imperfect memory. The brain’s electrochemical operations involve millions of synaptic connections and cells. Decay of this elaborate system occurs due to normal and abnormal cell regenerative functions that can break memory links, overwrite, improperly copy, or delete the supporting physical structures containing memories, or impede access to memory storage sites. The “recording” of a memory may also be affected by internal and external environment factors, such as loud noises, bright lights, or other sensory distractions and/or by disruptive thought patterns or physiological processes. So, a specific memory depends on the accumulated impact of all these factors.
Slater’s claim that we weave or work our own memories into usable stable states is basically accurate but incomplete. He needs to add the filtering processes that we all typically apply to arrive at specific memories. So, in addition to physiological processes that affect the stability of a memory, we may employ recall filters that are either learned from others or otherwise invoked, intentionally or not, particularly if strong emotions were involved during memory ‘recording.’ Some may label these filtering actions defense mechanisms or whatever psychological term applies to the filter. So what does this tell us about truth? Well, truth may be elusive or illusive or both in the recollection of events, and the shorter the time interval from an event to the memory, the better the accuracy. At best, long-term memories serve as pathways to the truth, and some truths are in fact lost forever even though the memories may linger. Writers beware.
The "Vagaries of Memory" reminds me of the subtle difference between truth and a lie when it comes to memory. I have absolutely sworn that I had not done something, later to find physical evidence that I did. It’s scary when your mind plays tricks on you. I recently started leaving phone messages to people with a phone number from my workplace five years ago. What triggered that? What will make it stop? Sometimes its amazing to me how little we know about the brain. My question to the group can truth be a relative concept?
Vagaries of Memory tells us that memory is fragile. Yes, we all know that. And thank goodness the courts are now giving far less weight to the memory of witnesses relying so much more of forensic evidence. Long overdue!
Frank gives us a fine analytical anatomical dissertation on memory. I especially like his use of the words elusive and illusive in the same sentence. Frank, you make me make friends with my dictionary. Thanks.
Beth, “Can truth be a relative concept?” I offer you the obverse: There is almost nothing of which we can be certain. Juxtapose memory with coincidence, and yes, I agree ‘Truth can only be a relative concept.’ And that is why I have frequently said we all rationalize, i.e. we all tend to believe that which we want to believe.
Judith Barrington, in her book, Writing the Memoir, quotes Toni Morrison who crystallizes the question thus: “The crucial distinction for me is not the difference between fact and fiction but the distinction between fact and truth.”
Hal Fishbein
I'm impressed by all of your comments so far. I'll make more substantial comments tomorrow once everyone's thoughts are in.
Great work--you're doing fabulous.
G
OK. So I am a day late and a little intimidated by the thoroughness of the postings. When I read the essay "Vagaries of Memories", I wasn't very concerned nor interested in why we store some memories and not others. I have never been into the whole scientific explanation of synapses and connections and so on. How boring. It's obviously a fact that we retain information and sometimes very random at that. I can still sing the first rap that came to Italy by the Sugar Hill Gang "I said a hip hop the hibbit..." all the way to the end. I definitely don't need it but it sticks. My whole life I have been obsessed in holding on to my life experiences. I started keeping a diary when I was six and have never stopped. I need to write down what I do every day big or mundane. It helps me feel in control for some reason. I never go back and read what I wrote but I just file the diaries away. I almost feel that by capturing these memories life will be saved or go more slowly or be savored fully.
Elisabetta:
I love the fact that you have a diary from when you were 6 – wow! I have had spots here and there and it always amazed me the things I have forgotten, but a single word will jar the memory into existence. I also find intriguing that it gives you a sense of control – I think we need things like that, rituals that put boundaries on our life. Mine constantly evolve, but I do see myself coming back to certain routines when life on the outside is changing or becoming more unstable.
Comments on Vagaries of Memory
I'm in California visiting with my parents who are in their 80s and all we talk about are memories. We've filtered them of course and forgotten some details but I don't care if it's all perfect. I'm happy my Dad survived Pearl Harbor and can recount to me what he was doing at that specific time in history. It's my own Burn's documentary on the War.
I love how all of you have such interesting, unqiue, and creative responses to the readings.
As some of you noted, Frank's response is thorough and I enjoyed his analysis. I also enjoyed the voice of Elisabetta and her response. Beth asks us to ponder some great questions while Kevin has a terrific example of the power of story and memory in action. Hal, I'm so glad you're reading the Barrington book!
Excellent work. Hope these craft essays help your approach to writing from life.
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