SIX-word memoir

Everyone has a story to tell… and everyone should have a place to tell it

To communicate something meaningful in exactly six words might seem preposterous, if not impossible. However, in 2006, writer and editor Larry Smith dared fans of his online publication, SMITH Magazine, to describe their lives in six words. The Six-Word Memoir challenge officially ended after a month, but the stories kept coming. Since the series’ debut, participants have contributed more than 700,000 mini-memoirs.

Smith has published five compilations of personal accounts, including the bestseller “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure.”  Some are profound, some are sad, and some are funny. All are deeply personal because it is a selective and creative avenue for self-expression. Oprah Winfrey wrote “Seeking the fullest expression of self” and comedian Stephen Colbert penned “Well, I thought it was funny.” “Love me or leave me alone” was scribbled on a hand dryer in a public bathroom and “I still make coffee for two” was composed by a 27-year-old who had just been dumped. And Smith’s own memoir? “Big hair, big heart, big hurry.”

Smith continues to spark the creativity of aspiring writers. He has motivated thousands of individuals – in boardrooms, classrooms and family rooms – to start writing their Six-Word Memoirs.  “There is inspiration everywhere,” he says. “Even if you don’t think you’re a storyteller, you are.”

The Jewish Alliance wants the greater Rhode Island community to rethink the notion of “writer” and “memoir” by offering a simple platform to share the short, sharp story of your life. Submit your six-word story to jewishallianceri.org by February 28, 2014, and become part of the Jewish storytelling tradition.

Submissions will be used to create the exhibit, “Everyone Has a Story to Tell,” on view in gallery(401) at the Dwares JCC from March 13 through April 11. The exhibit will honor Alliance members and friends who respond to this personal challenge and represent both individual stories as well as a larger story that epitomizes the whole community. All of the individual memoirs will appear exactly how they are received. If the author used punctuation or did not, that will be reflected. Nothing, including content will be edited or censored. Ensuring each author’s true freedom of expression, no names will be displayed in the exhibit.

Give six a try – and make your words count—because everyone has a story to tell.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Erin Moseley Director of Arts and Culture at emoseley@jewishallianceri.org or 421-4111, ext. 108.