This week's topic: Top Ten Books That Would Be On My Syllabus If I Taught Contemporary Biography/Memoir 101
You don't know this, but I used to teach summer English classes to high school students in the Upward Bound program. The best part about teaching (I was not a very good teacher) was setting my own syllabus, right down to the focus of the summer's study. My first year, I taught research writing. My second summer, I taught poetry.
I think the trick to a good syllabus about biography and memoir writing is to choose works that discuss an array of different lives all using top-notch writing to tell the story.
This is what would be on my syllabus:
the extraordinary American: Unbroken
celebrity memoir: Open by Andre Agassi
biography of a famous animal: Seabiscuit
childhood written in verse: Brown Girl Dreaming
Powerful people
U.S. president: Destiny of the Republic
British monarch: Elizabeth the Queen
minority lives: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
My Beloved World
ladies: Eat, Pray, Love
gentlemen: Visiting Tom
What would be on your biography/memoir syllabus?
What a great list & a really interesting topic. I would sign up for that class :) My TTT
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