Post #25 – Memoir and Fiction, Writing Alchemy – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Columbus Day
Today we celebrate Columbus Day to honor the man who “discovered” (at least for the Europeans) the Americas. Actually, he first stepped on land in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. There were enough protests about honoring the man who later enslaved many of the people on that island that the 500 year celebration in 1992 was mainly cancelled.
However, it has been an official Federal holiday since 1937. For many of us, it’s a day we can mostly ignore. I remember a few years ago when I went to the library to return a book. (Yes, back in the paper book days.) I was surprised that the library was closed but then remembered it was Columbus Day. Apparently, I didn’t remember for very long because when I got home, I stopped at our mailbox, got out of the car, unlocked our box, and discovered once again that it was Columbus Day — the explanation for no mail delivery. Ah. “Not too swift,” you’re thinking.
Columbus kept a journal and it is because of that journal that we know the details of the long journey, spotting land, navigating to the island, setting foot on land, and exploring it. More than 500 years later, we can recite the names of the individuals who first got all the ship with Columbus and know their roles on the three ships.
Memoir Writing from Journals
I thought about several topics for today. Certainly one of them was journaling. Small details about Columbus’s voyage across the ocean would have been lost without a carefully kept journal. Actually, he kept two journals. In one, he kept accurate records of how far they sailed each day. In a second, the public one for the sailors, he wrote a much shorter distance so that they would not feel they were so far from home. It turns out that many sailors already knew the world was round by then. However, they thought the world was much smaller. The number of days they had been sailing led to a near mutiny just two days before they spotted land.
Memoir Writing about Time and Place
And while journaling is important, I want to also talk about times and places that are etched in our memories, whether we have a journal or not. We all have a small list — private times in our lives that we will never forget as well as public times.
A new public event has just been added to my list of “never forget” times. This past Wednesday, October 5, we had house guests arriving. We were busy preparing appetizers and warming the chili so that it would be ready for an early dinner. We had noticed that Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks, was giving an invited talk at Oregon State. We thought the four of us would enjoy going and so wanted to make sure we could keep the evening moving along.
After we greeted Dorine and Dave, talked for a while, and snacked, it was time to prepare the salad and condiments for the chili. We turned on Al Jazeera English just to get a little different take on the day. Besides, our guests had never seen it. The first words we heard from the newscaster were, “Today, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, died.” Dorine put her hand to her mouth. All four of us stood facing the television. None of us said a word. We turned off the television. Who could watch other news after hearing about Jobs.
Quickly we were talking about our early memories of Steve Jobs, the impact he has had on lives around the world, the sadness of his early death.
A public event that now has strong personal context.
Memoir Writing Tip
When writing memoir, you sometimes want to include public events because they help to anchor your personal story. When you do, add your personal memories from that time and place. Bring your emotions to the front. Help your readers know what the event meant to you.
