Book

Goldberg, Natalie.

Old friend from far away : the practice of writing memoir / Natalie Goldberg.

1st Free Press hardcover ed.

New York : Free Press, 2008, ©2007.

xxi, 309 pages ; 23 cm

Millions of Americans want to write about their lives. With this book as the road map for getting started and following through, writers and readers will gain a deeper understanding of their own minds, learn to connect with their senses in order to find the detail and truth that give their written words power and authenticity, and unfold the natural structure of the stories they carry within. Through timed, associative, and meditative exercises, writing teacher Goldberg guides you to the attentive state of thought in which you discover and open forgotten doors of memory. At once a celebration of the memoir form, an innovative course full of practical teachings, and a meditation on consciousness, love, life, and death, this book welcomes aspiring writers of all levels and encourages them to find their unique voice to tell their stories.--From publisher description.

English language -- Rhetoric -- Study and teaching.

Autobiography -- Authorship -- Problems, exercises, etc.

Biography as a literary form.

Problems and exercises.

Includes bibliographical references.

Read this introduction -- Note to reader -- Section 1 -- Go -- I remember -- Test 1 -- No one has ever died -- Die -- Three -- Coffee -- Tell me -- Dishes -- Jean Rhys -- Four-letter word -- Ugly -- Home -- Peach -- James Baldwin -- Again -- What's in front of you -- Outside -- End -- Section 2 -- Test 2 -- Funny -- Storage -- Third -- Steve Almond -- Nuts -- Grade -- No mush -- Scratch -- Sideways step -- Section 3 -- Test 3-I remember -- Monkey mind -- Wild at heart -- Allen Ginsberg -- Plain -- Bolt -- Bicycle -- Great students -- Moment -- Zora Neal Hurston -- Reading aloud -- Sitting -- Hand -- Hearing -- Chin -- Tongue -- Just sitting-or do the Neola -- Practice notebook -- Walking -- Linda Gregg -- Happy -- Ice cream -- Cook -- Potatoes -- Verb -- Hard and soft -- More than ten minutes -- Sprinting -- Religion -- Jimmy Santiago Baca -- Pull -- Wild -- Section 4 -- Addict -- Polite -- Repair -- Awake -- Nothing -- Facing it -- Boring -- Ordinary -- Something -- Swim -- Poor -- Lie -- Mistake -- Weather -- Fantasy -- Vice -- Hand and wrist -- Jump -- Care -- Section 5 -- Test 4 -- Cezanne -- Apples -- Joan Mitchell -- Vast affection -- No -- Ahead -- Sickness -- Driving -- Window -- Paris -- Quiet -- No stop -- Birthday -- Say -- Ring -- Mind -- Time -- Close -- No whining -- Reading life -- Long -- No more -- Suicide -- Times -- Fish -- Give up -- Death -- Sex-or money -- Fat -- Obese -- Smoke -- Chang-Rae Lee -- Enamored -- At the edge -- Fight -- Fourth -- Four words -- Perfect -- Lucky -- Spit -- Dresser -- Section 6 -- Test 5 -- Blind -- Not here -- Politics -- Not you -- Half 'n half -- Place -- Some place -- Two -- No topic -- Title -- Implied -- Section 7 -- Test 6 -- Not published -- Too long -- Portrait -- Ad -- Last letter -- One -- Song -- Hattie's -- Bar -- Different times -- Broken -- Everything -- Ache -- Topic of topics -- More -- Cannot -- Radish -- Children -- Flat cake -- Orient yourself -- Anchor -- Inventory of good-bye -- First meetings -- Morning glory! -- Give up -- Haunt -- Divorce -- Repeat -- One thing -- Hot -- Nothing -- Winter -- No fun -- Trip -- Defeat -- Sound -- October thirty first -- Section 8 -- Test 7 -- Good -- Big state -- Big continent -- Poignancy -- What -- Orchard -- Mother -- Resistance -- Knew -- Air waves -- Cracked sentence -- Down -- Section 9 -- Test 8 -- Series -- Fulfilled -- Section 10 -- Test 9 -- Baby memoir -- Caryl Phillips -- House -- Recipe -- Diet -- Structure -- Vast -- Over -- Turning around -- Not take -- Well -- Guidelines and suggestions for writing memoir -- Some great memoirs to read.

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Contributor biographical information

Publisher description

2007028270

9781416535027

1416535020

156975181

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808.06692 Goldberg