memoir structure

Post #230 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Matilda Butler

What Form Will Your Memoir Take?

Although narrative is the most usual form of memoir writing, you might want to think about poetry as the structure for your stories.

Consider today’s example. I’m sharing a poem recently found by the great-granddaughter of Harald. It is family treasures such as this that remind us of the value and measure of memoir and writing.

Kristiane McKee Maas shares that she is pleased her “mother wrote out the poem and didn’t type it on her manual Remington,” which Kris still has, by the way. Kris continues, “I wish my mother had signed and dated it. I would love to see her signature and a simple date. But I am lucky to have this beautiful tribute to her grandfather. Every time I read it, every time I see her handwriting, I feel the emotion of the poem. I hope others enjoy it.

“My mother probably wrote this in the years after her grandfather left California for Denmark to receive a Civil Knighthood, signed by King Christian X–an honor given for his fighting in a war with Germany in 1864.”

Harald Christian Valdemar Andersen was born September 24, 1844 in Almstofte, Denmark. After leaving for the US, he eventually took a ship bound for San Francisco.

To Harald.

By Elsa Inger Thuesen McKee

My grandfather chose to leave
Your chalk cliffed shores,
To search out Fate
Obey another country’s laws.

He did not bring a clod of soil
Nor a Birch, slim white tree;
But a piece of your Northern heart
Centuries long beating free.

He brought no shining sword
Nor jewels out of your crown;
But stout homespun tales
and Beauty of his birth town.

Tales full of salt winds,
Songs of the blackened moors,
Ships plowing through icy fjords
And sand that scarred the doors.

Tales of Nordic Freemen,
Pictures of Giant Graves,
Sea raiders, Vikings;
Men to proud for slaves.

He lived a full good life,
Holding his new country dear.
Giving all he had to her
More than those born here.

He took from this new land
The Freedom she always gave,
And the previous Rights of Man
That others failed to save.

And the years ticked by
As he watched his children grow,
And his memories dimmed a bit
For the land of the cliffs and snow.

It was about his little house
that laughter wove her ring–
These were his proudest years–
His free land songs to sing.

Then, his children’s children were born,
And his heart began to slow
As he told the half forgotten tales
He had heard so long ago.

He knew he had lived his Life
In a land that gave him more
Than the one in which he was born
But his heart was old and sore.

So he sailed away to another Fate,
Back to his chalk clipped shores,
Obeying the call of the Northern heart
And one of life’s first laws.

Not that he loved his new land less
Nor his children’s children dear,
For he gave them each his heart–
All save his Life’s last year–

Thank You, Kris

Women’s Memoirs appreciates Kris Maas sharing her mother’s beautiful poem. We hope it will inspire you in your writing. Imagine your daughter or granddaughter or great granddaughter finding one of your poems or memoir vignettes or drawing or photo collage. It will be a treasure.

Want to know more about Kris?

Kristiane Maas

An only-child and a youngster racked with rheumatic fever for three years, I still knew I had a good childhood: two parents who loved me and taught me horseback riding and a grandmother who taught me Danish and allowed me to play with her Royal Copenhagen china. She is the one who encouraged my interest in table settings and design. Something I enjoy to this day — especially as I participate in The Table Affair in Pebble Beach each year and as I plan for my annual Ladies Luncheon.

My father put me in front of his saddle and off we’d trot up and down Orange Avenue, in Los Altos, CA, on Shorty. Great memories.

At age 7, I was taken for the first time to our family ranch where there were even more horses. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed writing about my adventures there and sharing these stories with my writing group. Homesteaded in 1899, the ranch was near and dear to me.

I married in 1968 to a man 21 years older. Today I would have been considered a “trophy wife” with my bleached blonde hair and size 8 mini-skirts. We traveled extensively by private plane. In 1970, we circumnavigated South America in our twin engine Beech Baron. I was not even scared when we crossed the Andes!

I have always loved entertaining thanks to my Danish grandmother, volunteering for historic preservation projects in San Jose, and writing about my family and sharing these stories with my writing group.

For the last 32 years, my life-partner, Don, and I have operated the Bar 46 Ranch on the Pacific Slope. We breed and sell Registered Texas Longhorn cattle.

The health challenges I’ve experienced since 2004 encourage me to tackle each day positively, cherish my faith and absolutely adore my lady friends who have journeyed with me on this path.

If you would like to contact me, just leave a note in the Comments section below and I’ll get back to you.

Memoir Writing Prompt

Do you already write poems? Never or rarely tried your hand at it?

1. Think of a special memory of your grandmother or grandfather. Then, craft a poem about that experience.

2. Take the same memory and write it as a narrative.

3. Now, compare the two. Even if you prefer one or the other, the experience of writing in both forms will help to inform the other.

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