Poetry Friday-Memoir

Since the publication of Karen Hesse's 1997 book, Out of the Dust [J HES], there has been an abundance of novels-in-verse published, especially for young adults. Lately, I've become aware of a number of memoirs-in-verse.

Why write a memoir in verse? I suppose there are as many reasons as there are writers, but, I'll guess that it may have to do with pain. Some people write about the pain of life in great detail--as horrific it may be (I'm thinking about the books by Augusten Burroughs [B BUR]). With poetry, the writer can capture the emotion without getting into all the painful details. Here's an excerpt from a poem called "Five Words" in Blue Suburbia: Almost A Memoir by Laurie Lico Albanese [810.54 ALB]:

Most days
I found my mother
standing at the kitchen sink

I'd come home from school
or walk in from the yard
where the Murphy boys
killed bumblebees
with their bare feet

my mother would turn
or not

mostly not

but I kept coming into the room
year after year

As a reader, I love the form. These small slices of life are irresistible. I find myself saying, "I'll read just one more..." One more turns into two more. Two more turns into three more...until I've finished the book!

Want to try a memoir-in-verse? Here are a few to look for:

Corrigan, Eireann. You Remind Me of You: A Poetry Memoir. [YA B COR]

Schutz, Samantha. I Don't Want to Be Crazy. [YA 811.6 SCH]

Turner, Ann. Learning to Swim: A Memoir. [YA 811 TUR]