As I read your post I thought of The Diary of Anne Frank. Why is that a diary and not a memoir? Does the reflection of the author add more awe? And why do memoirs instill more awe than diaries? Or do they? On this rather cheesy website that I found (http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/activity/68plan/Diaries2.htm) I learned that Virginia Woolf has an unfinished memoir - A Sketch of the Past. Apparently it's not only a memoir but she writes about the genre of memoirs as well. That'd be super cool to look into!
Also I thought about how memoirs have become popular. What determines if a memoir will be published or become popular? Is that the awe factor? I just read Mindy Kaling's memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And I feel that her popularity guaranteed success of the book, even if the book is trash. (I'm not saying that. Just don't know if it's brilliance.) And these days there are blogs that tell people how to write a memoir and what is good or not good. Or simply write a memoir on your blog. Like this blog -http://yourmemoir.wordpress.com. Or on Oprah Winfrey's website there is a how-to on writing memoirs. http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/How-to-Write-Your-Memoir-by-Abigail-Thomas/1. Does this add to or take away from the awe of memoirs? That it has become common place and has joined the blogging world? Can you simplify a memoir into a 10 step instruction manual? And do these how-to instructions help you to identify the elements of awe?
Just some ideas for you. Love the idea of the topic. And I have a good feeling about Virginia Woolf and her memoir (if you haven't already looked into that).
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