Unbound Book Festival: George Hodgman Discusses His Memoir BETTYVILLE

Over the next few weeks I’m going to share some notes I took during the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, Missouri, on April 23.

The first event I attended, along with writing friends Dianna Graveman and Mary Horner, was George Hodgman’s candid and inspiring conversation about his memoir, Bettyville.

I read Bettyville a couple months ago and was captivated by Hodgman’s lovely writing, unvarnished honesty, and moments of grace and humor. So, I was excited when I read he was going to be one of the featured speakers at the festival. Bettyville is Hodgman’s award-winning book, which has been described as a “Love letter to small towns that are declining and to his mother who is in decline.”

After sharing some background information and a few personal stories, Hodgman spoke about memoir writing.

Here are some highlights:

Memoir is a mixed state of knowing and admitting.

Memoir is about a relationship, a trusting relationship with the reader.

Give them (the reader) something so they know you trust them.

Storytelling is totally healing.

We connect and we learn.

Admit your reality.

Look for moments of recognition.

There is a relaxation in the “letting go” part of writing, solving problems.

You have to let go!

Place is a central character in memoir.

The richest (memoirs) always have a background of place.

He ended his writing day with a specific thing, e.g. revision of a scene.

That way he would start with a specific task the next day.

His writing process was self-punishing; he wrote at the card table at 4 a.m. until his mother awoke.

He also shared a few personal stories:

When he returned home to Paris, MO, to care for his mother Betty, a scene grew, a picture in his mind of his mother Betty driving a blue Impala taking him to kindergarten.

After returning home, he fell in love with Missouri again.

Most people don’t know Missouri: it’s beautiful, it’s cultural, people here are funny and smart.

He felt rooted in small towns and as a child was comfortable with adults.

He felt accepted here (in Columbia), in this cultural and artistic community.

He grew up around kindness, with community and church.

Moments of surprising kindness move him.

***

The most memorable moments during his conversation were when he read an excerpt from Bettyville and spoke lovingly about his mother Betty, who died last July 26. He said, he is “only now starting to grieve,” and “Spring flowers make me think of her.”

He also said he loves his dog (a black Lab). Of course, anyone who has ever had a black Lab (like our thirteen-year old Harley) knows how lovable they are.

If you haven’t read Bettyville, I recommend you pick up a copy, especially if you appreciate elegant writing, have an elderly parent, understand what it's like to be from Missouri, or grew up in a small town.

Next week I’ll post some notes I took during Senator Claire McCaskill’s conversation about Pretty Ladylike, the book she co-wrote with Terry Gainey.

St. Louis Cardinals Prevail in Game 6 of World Series: In Baseball and In Writing - Never Quit

Last night's Game 6 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers was thrilling!

My teenage granddaughter and I stayed up and watched the game after hubby and grandson called it a night. I was bone-tired after cleaning the house for Bunco--which is at my house tonight--and at one point I told Cari I was going to bed, but she convinced me to stay up till the game was over.

Boy, am I glad I did. It is a shared memory Cari and I will have for years to come. The game didn't start out pretty for the Cardinals--not many hits, three costly errors. Winning Game 6 wasn't look promising. But the Cardinals never quit.

When David Freese tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the 9th, I got a glimmer of hope. Then Texas shot ahead. When Lance Berkman tied the game in the 10th inning, I stood up and cheered, "Lance, Lance. He's our man. If he can't do it, no one can." Then hometown hero David Freese struck again, toppng off the evening with an 11th inning home run. Cheers. Chills. Tears. Unreal.

No matter what the Cardinals do tonight in Game 7, last night's game--and this season--will be one I will always remember. At one point late in last night's game the Cards were down by three runs. They didn't quit. They fought back. To quote Dylan Thomas, they refused "to go gentle into that good night."

Flashback: In 1964, when I was around Cari's age, my sister Kathleen and I and some friends skipped school (with our parents' permission and the good nuns at our high school not disapproving) and camped  overnight outside the old Sportsmen's Park for Game 7 of the World Series between the underdog St. Louis Cardinals and the favored New York Yankees. That October night was cold as we huddled beneath our blanket. But it was an experience I have never forgotten.  Bleacher tickets cost $2. I had saved money from babysitting to pay for my ticket. We were able to buy two tickets each. A friend of Kathleen's paid us $5 for our extra $2 bleacher ticket, which paid for our own ticket, plus snacks at the stadium. What a deal!

A lot has changed since 1964. The Cardinals have moved stadiums twice since then. I heard this morning the least expensive available ticket cost around $400 for standing room only. In 1964, when Bob Gibson pitched the Cardinals to beat the New York Yankees, I climbed down the bleacher wall and followed other fans onto the field while my sister stood in the bleachers holding our blanket, yelling for me to be careful. How crazy was that?

Crazy, but well worth the memory. Yep. Baseball fans and writers have a lot in common; we're dedicated and a little bit crazy.

The resilience, persistence, and never-give-up attitude of the Cardinals is a lesson for me as a writer. In spite of rejections or close-but-not-quite-there placement in contests, I'll keep on plugging away, doing what I love to do--write--oh, and root for my hometown Cardinals.

Advice on Self-Publishing

Today in St. Peters, MO: Drifting snow, high 11 degrees. Both kiddos are home from school today. It's cold and snowy.

If you've ever considered self-publishing but are not sure if it's right for you, read Margo Dill's interview of Joy Wooderson on today's WOW blog.

Joy answers questions about why she chose to self-publish her memoir Finding Joy: One Woman's Journey Back to Faith. She also discusses how she chose Amy Harke-Moore of The Write Helper as her editor, how she was able to remain true to her "South African" voice, and how she has benefited from her self-publishing experience. You can also read my review of Joy's memoir here.

Oh, and if you noticed that Joy's shirt in the photo is the same as mine--the photo was taken by Jerell Swingle, another member of Saturday Writers, at a Cup of Comfort book signing that Joy, Candace Carrabus Rice, and I participated in a few years ago.

Sue William Silverman - Special Guest Blogger Tomorrow

Today's weather for St. Peters, MO: High 89 degrees, chance of thunderstorms.

I'm pleased to announce that as part of the WOW! Guest Author Tour, tomorrow my guest blogger will be teacher and memoirist Sue William Silverman, a faculty advisor at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and the associate editor of the journal Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction.

Sue's latest book, FEARLESS CONFESSIONS: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO MEMOIR (The University of Georgia Press) is fascinating and informative. The book is filled with helpful writing tips and practical exercises. I discuss her book this week on my other blog, A Book A Week.

If you've ever wondered about the line that separates truth from fiction in memoir, you will want to read her post here tomorrow on "Truth in Memoir."

So stop by tomorrow and read what Sue has to say. Even better, post a comment, or ask a question and Sue will be available to answer.

"The Dancing Lyric that Sings as it Blooms" by Elizabeth Kirschner

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Mostly sunny, high 81 degrees. The kiddos are heading for Six Flags this afternoon, so they should have good weather for that.

It's such an honor to have as my guest blogger memoirist and poet Elizabeth Kirschner, who wrote MY LIFE AS A DOLL.

Elizabeth has published three collections of poetry with Carnegie-Mellon University Press, Twenty Colors, Postal Routes and Slow Risen Among the Smoke Trees as well as a chapbook, The Red Dragon, with Permafrost. Her latest book of poetry, My Life as a Doll, which is a memoir in verse, was published by Autumn House Press and a fifth volume, Surrender to Light, is due out from Cherry Grove Editions this August.

Today Elizabeth shares with us her essay, "The Dancing Lyric that Sings as it Blooms":

Every morning I pick up my pen. Sometimes it’s a leaden pen. Most often it’s light as a feather that moves across the page till the words take flight. Even if the flight is a downward one as was writing my latest collection of poems, My Life as a Doll, surely was, I have learned there are four ways of flying—up, down, across and out. Writing involves all forms of flying as does dance and writing lyrics for composers of classical music.

I have been creating poetry for thirty-five years and my passion for it only grows larger in the fullness of time. Every morning I wake up eager to get to work. I come home from my morning walk by the sea which is my matins prayer, my walking meditation, my preparation for the making of poems.

I have been dancing just as long knowing it, like poetry, takes practice, practice, practice. Each involves the sculpting of lines—the poetic line verses the balletic one. For me, dance is the counter-balance to the writing cadence, a physical embodiment of poetry. Both set me in motion, gracefully so. Then there’s all that music. Music of the word, music the body dances to and the lyric that leaps into song. Thus my first two disciplines have been plaited into a third—the creating of poetry meant to be set to music. Three marriages, then, and me the happy, if aging bride.

I sang before I started writing, but it is ballet that truly fostered my love for classical music. It taught me how to take music into my body and turn it into a tool meant to express, like poetry, one of the highest forms of beauty. Body as tool, voice as tool. Often I think I should write my poems on blank sheets of music, graced by grace notes.

Whether I’m in my study, the ballet studio, the concert hall and yes, my garden too, I am in nirvana. I love the god of dirt as much as the god of poesy and the lyre. Hence the dancing lyric that sings as it blossoms. Anna Ahkmatova once wrote, “And the miraculous comes so close.” Isn’t that what art tries to do? Am I alone in believing that nirvana is here, as I read long ago, nine times out of ten? I wonder how others create their own nirvana, turn the little miracles into big ones till each an everyone of us is truly a miracle worker, a maker who makes the magic happen.


Elizabeth Kirschner
http://www.elizabethkirschner.com/
e.kirschner1@gmail.com

Wow! How is that for inspiration. Thank you, Elizabeth for such an insightful post. Anyone who leaves a question or comment for Elizabeth is eligible to win her book, My Life as a Doll. One name will be selected at random, and the winner will be announced next week.