Memoir and Article responses 7.7

"Writing a Memoir: The Involvement of Art with Craft" by Frank F. Mathias

This article is about the difficulties of writing a memoir, as told from the memoirist, Frank Mathias. Mathias was a private in the 37th Infantry Division of World War II. He describes how challenging it was for him to write a memoir recounting events from the war. The main issue in writing his or any other memoir is establishing a balance of art and craft. A memoir needs to be historically accurate but also aesthetically pleasing. In this way, memoirs blend the art of being a historian with that of being a novelist. Memoirs also require imagination and memory, not imagination to distort the truth or fill in gaps falsely, but rather to recreate an event in such a way that a reader feels personally engaged. Mathias says that it took him a very long time for his memoir, GI Jive, An Army Bandsman in World War II to feel complete. In order for it to make sense to an outside reader Mathias had to do background research and also check his old letters and contacts to assure historical and factual accuracy. In writing his memoir, Mathias also debated whether or not to include dialogue. In the end, he decided that it would not only reveal character, but also “push along an otherwise lagging narrative”. However, with this decision, also came even more issues. Would including dialogue distort historical accuracy or dent the truth? It would also be difficult for Mathias to recall conversations some forty years after their occurrence. This being the case, Mathias prefaces his memoir with an admission of error in the exact wording of his dialogue passages, also stating that the overall tone of each passage and the underlying ideas are as close as his memory could allow. This even includes the use of profanity and expressions used perhaps exclusively at the time of the war and more importantly by the soldiers involved in it. Mathias says that memoirists are limited by choice or which memories to include in the memoir. After final selection is made and publication of the memoir is complete many “how come” questions may arise. These are to be answered with an “I’ll write about that subject in my next book” response.

"Above Us Only Sky" by James Slesinger

I think that this story was very well written. Slesinger describes the night very vividly, with detail that made you believe that you were there. It’s very clear that this night had a huge impact on James. He describes the evening as a “turning point, my crossing from happiness into unhappiness.” I also found his take on the Beatles very interesting. He refers to Paul McCartney as a “fool”, saying that he “wrote rubbish on the guitar”. Slesinger said that he couldn’t work with the band anymore. He said that Paul was “selfish and egotistical.” Overall, I found it very interesting to hear a story of that night from someone who was actually there.

"Knocked Up" by Nicole Filmore

I feel that this story portrays a very typical view of any sixteen year old that would be thrown into this situation. I was very interested in this story from the start, considering that pregnancy is a very relatable subject for teens, like me. I’ve heard about kids my age having a baby, but never with so much detail and insight. I thought it was interesting how selfish Nicole was about her sister’s pregnancy. Although I can’t say that I blame Nicole since she has never been in that situation before, and may be too young to understand the significance of it. However, I found it very touching that she described the baby’s cry as the “most perfect cry I’d ever heard.” Nicole also said “I can’t imagine my life without her. My everything.” I think that this experience made Nicole mature and was very beneficial for her in the long run.