Author Archives: first person productions
Life Lesson from a Troll Doll
From the moment they arrived from Denmark in 1963, I loved my troll dolls. Dam dolls they were called sometimes, with a nervous giggle. Ugly as sin, made of tumeric-colored molded rubber, with great cottony ebullient flights of hair. McCall’s … Continue reading
Grand MaMa Dovie McMullin’s Good Old Fashioned Southern Communion Butter Bread
By Sherri Bester. This recipe and essay appear in the Meals and Memories Cookbook, sales of which benefit the Odyssey Project. I found myself thinking of Sherri’s writing when I posted about “the Right Word” earlier this week. Sherri’s writing, like April’s, … Continue reading
The Right Word
I’m thinking about “the right word” this morning because I’ve been working with fearless, peerless April of “Aye Chihuahua” on polishing her story for submission to Glamour’s “My Real Life Story” contest. April’s voice as a writer is wild and … Continue reading
WRWA Fall Conference Sept 23-25 2011
Among the many pies I keep a finger in, there is the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association. This august organization, now in its 62nd year, serves writers amateur-to-pro who make Wisconsin their topic or base of operations. I serve as its Contests … Continue reading
Book Review: The Memoir Project
I’m happy! After a small drought, I’ve finally found a book I’m excited to recommend! Marion Roach Smith’s The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life tickled me pink. Yes, it’s yet another book on how to … Continue reading
Letting Go
By Mary Ann Parker When my sons were in elementary school, they all went to Davis Elementary In Plano, Texas,several blocks from our house. Adjoining the school grounds was a small greenbelt area that had a creek running through it. … Continue reading
Writing Prompt suggestion: Letting Go
Readers of this blog know I’m not a huge fan of writing prompts. In fact, I’m pretty conflicted about their usefulness for memoir writers. As I said in a post last spring (!%#@*! Writing Prompts) I think they may actually … Continue reading
Being 13 on Martha’s Vineyard
By Sarah White I wrote this in response to the writing prompt, “Who I was at Age _____.” It is August of 1969, I am 13, and I have come to Martha’s Vineyard to babysit my 10-year-old cousin Alice. Alice’s mother Jane … Continue reading
Celebrate Our Odyssey Stories on August 3rd
The Odyssey Oral History Project has been collecting stories this summer from our “Odyssey Elders” so all can learn from their challenges and successes. On August 3rd, we’ll present our project to the community with Prizes! Stories! and Special Guests! Come … Continue reading
Book Review: “Unless It Moves the Human Heart”
I guess I’ve got the heat-grumps. This is the second time lately I’m blogging a book I won’t particularly recommend. This time it’s Unless It Moves the Human Heart by Roger Rosenblatt. Its subtitle, “The Craft and Art of Writing,” … Continue reading
True Stories Well Told 