Memoirs and Autobiographies

About Memoirs, Autobiographies, and Biographies

What are Memoirs and Autobiographies? Their Definitions

Memoirs and Autobiographies are types of a very particular Literary Genre. Literary memories are personal works of art from writers who master writing as an art and relive an era through their personal memories. These writers are, in general, invited to narrate their memories in a literary way, that is, seeking to arouse aesthetic emotions in the reader. They attempt to get him to share his memories vividly. For this, the authors use the language with freedom and beauty, preferring the words’ symbolic meaning in this production situation, typical of the genre literary memories.

  Autobiographies and Memoirs as a Literary Genre

The writer of literary memories can recover his life experiences, verbalizing them through a language in which he is authoritative. More than remembering the past he lived in, the memorialist narrates his story. He continues unfolding himself as an author and narrator-character. We can cite as examples of authors who wrote their memoirs Gabriel Garcia Marques and

As he writes his text, the writer-author-narrator organizes the recalled experiences and interprets them, using a specific literary language. In literary memories, what is told is not necessarily the actual reality. The reality supports is in text, but that text is also constituted by a certain amount of inventiveness, creativity, and ingenuity.

The literary memories such as Memoirs and Autobiographies come close to historical texts when they narrate the lived reality. On the other hand, they are closer to the novel because they result from a literary work.

A memoir forces me to stop and remember carefully. It is an exercise in truth. We look at ourselves, our lives, and the people we love the most in the blank screen mirror with a memoir. In a memoir, feelings are more important than facts, and to write honestly, I have to confront my demons.

Isabel Allende

Published by iSpirit Publishing, these articles intend to answer all the questions that one may plan on entering the Imagination world armed with a Pen and paper! It is our hope that they will guide you on this new journey of excitement and discovery.