Memories Milestones and Memoirs
Selections from a Writing Workshop
by
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By Loretta Lewis
I was in the
The man in the “Whites Only” booth stared threateningly and said with a sneer, “Mulattoes belong on the black line.”
I was not even familiar with that word, but I knew from the stares and the surprised looks on the faces of the other passengers that they too thought I was trying to pass myself off as a white woman. The white man standing directly in back of me pushed me aside, and I moved towards the exit and up the staircase with my heavy suitcase. In my rage and confusion, choking with tears, I left the station not knowing where to go.
Walking through the busy thoroughfare, I approached a policeman directing traffic. I felt certain that he would help me, and also felt some relief at having escaped from the foreign and frightening world I had just left, where I had been given a strange label.
I moved into the street oblivious of everything around me and as I stood close to the policeman, his hand motioned for me to stand back. It seemed to be a gesture of hostility, and fearfully I moved back onto the sidewalk, and waited. And waited, and waited. He showed no signs of intention to help me, as I stood there shaking with terror and still enraged at the injustice and humiliation I had just suffered. I don’t know what possessed me, but I assumed that he would be able to direct me to the next train to
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About the Book
Everybody has a story, and the wonder of humankind is that each story is unique. In this new age of technology and communication it is so easy to make a permanent record of our lives, and there is something inherently human about wanting to do that. To many of us, it is a way of “not ever dying.”
Our workshop began with that premise and people have come to record and relive their lives for themselves and for their progeny. In the process they have discovered to their delight, the riches and diversity of other people’s lives. They not only learn to improve writing technique and craft, they dare to examine their inner lives as they record their “outer” lives. And they have learned too that they can find humor, even in tragedy.
The classes have inspired attendees to go beyond the work in class, and several have published works that were begun in class sessions.
From the simplest of stories to the most complex use of language, metaphor, and humor, students have poured their memories onto paper – and continue to do so.
You’ll want to read about family members who were loved, who were hated, and places in between. You’ll enjoy the contrasts and the similarities between rural life in
As Rachel Donadio (New York Times Book Review Editor and Writer) said in an August 7th 2005 essay, “Truth is stronger than Fiction.”
About the Author
Memories Milestones and Memoirs
Selections from a Writers’ Workshop
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Although Emily Rosen’s “work” life seems disparate and unconnected, she insists that the threads are there and form a well focused pattern. After earning three Master’s degrees, appearances might indicate that she deviated from her academic training in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s for about 8 years when she became the co-owner of a very successful singing telegram company, Witty Ditty. “But,” she says, “I did in-depth interviewing about the recipients and customized all the lyrics,” definitely a precursor to her future involvement in memoir writing. After selling that business she has continued writing personal poetry for her new business, Pryme Rhymes, “We write ‘em. You recite ‘em”
She began her career as a copywriter, switched to teaching which led to counseling, while simultaneously freelancing as a feature writer for local and national media.. Her column, Everything’s Coming Up Rosen appears in the
In
There is also the travel-adventurous “part” that began with a trek through the
And lest she leave out the cog around which all her wheel-parts revolve, she lives in
And – just to keep her wheels turning, she rides her bicycle daily.