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Culture Lust by Angela Carone

KPBS Staff Write Memoirs In Six Words

Last week a book arrived on my desk called Not Quite What I Was Planning:  Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure .   It's a collection of six-word memoirs submitted to an online project launched by SMITH magazine .  They made a book out of it and I'll tip my hat and make a blog post out of it.   

Of course, the original hat tip goes to Ernest Hemingway.  Legend has it Hemingway was challenged to write a novel in six words. Lord knows how many bottles of booze it took for Papa to brilliantly write, "For sale:  baby shoes, never worn."  Inspired by the legend and aware of a national memoir craze, the editors over at SMITH launched sixwordmemoir. com and received thousands of entries.  It didn't take long for the likes of Stephen Colbert, Dave Eggers, and Joyce Carol Oates to submt their versions. 

I decided to write my own.  Unfortunately, nothing came right away.

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Charlotte Albergetis, Director of Marketing
April 08, 2008 at 11:17 PM
Keep heart window open every day.

Nicole Lozare
April 08, 2008 at 11:56 PM
Angela, I'm just glad that you asked us to write our own instead of us writing for each other! Um... you had a nose ring?

Ana Nimous from San Diego
April 09, 2008 at 12:19 AM
Sesame Street raised, now on Ritalin.

Kim Nyhous
April 09, 2008 at 01:32 AM
I misread your original memoir...thought it said "Girl gets drunk...blogs with power"

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Michelle
April 09, 2008 at 04:19 AM
I want more now yummmm . . . (please?)

Bob Kanish from San Diego
April 09, 2008 at 05:01 PM
Blindness never stopped me from driving.

Brad from La Mesa
April 09, 2008 at 07:14 PM
Good mind, wanders much. Needs Adderall.

Fido
April 09, 2008 at 08:16 PM
Dog makes coffee, uses toilet water.

Kathi Diamant
April 09, 2008 at 08:31 PM
Followed my bliss. Work in process.

Chewy
April 10, 2008 at 06:32 AM
Accidentally made decaf, Angela. I tried...

aaryn b. from Under a palm tree
April 10, 2008 at 07:52 PM
Writers block made me do it.

Edwin Decker from yes, location
April 10, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Only three needed: location, location, location.

Brad Martin from KPBS-FM
April 13, 2008 at 03:01 AM
Growing Old: I'm better than Ever.

aaryn b. from Under a palm tree
April 13, 2008 at 05:26 AM
Force+Quit: Not the best solution.