This piece was submitted by Larry Smith as part of the 2015 PEN World Voices Online Anthology.
Larry Smith’s event: Six Words for My Mother
Since 2006, I’ve been asking people to sum up their lives in exactly six words on the storytelling community I founded, Six Words from SMITH Magazine. We call these short life stories “Six-Word Memoirs,” a personal twist on the form that, according to literary lore, Hemingway started when challenged in a bar to write a whole novel in just six words: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
Eight years and more than one million stories later, the six-word concept has become a bestselling book series, a teaching tool used across the world, and a powerful way to spur on self-expression for anyone and everyone. In hospitals and veterans’ groups, at after-school programs and houses of worship, around dinner tables and (naturally) during speed dates, the six-word concept has been used to foster understanding, ease communication, and break the ice.
The six-word constraint forces us to figure out the essence of who we are and what matters most. Above all, six words is a great way for anyone and everyone to start telling their story. A compelling Six-Word Memoir also provokes three more important words from those who receive it: Tell me more. Here are just a few examples of Six-Word Memoirs from people across the world, including a few names you may recognize. —Larry Smith
Bad brakes discovered at high speed. —Johan Baumeister
Ex-wife and contractor now have house. —Drew Peck
Being a monk stunk. Better gay. —Bob Redman
School geek married a luscious cheerleader. —Christopher Clukey
Former Boss: “Writing’s your worst skill!”— Amy Tan
Gin joints. Love affairs. No relation. —Dean Ellis
One tooth, one cavity, life’s cruel. —John Bettencourt
Mormon economist marries feminist. Worlds collide. —Michael McBride
Mormon feminist loves husband, hates patriarchy. —Caroline Kline
Blame Catholic Church for bad knees. —Kathi Wright
Half Jewish. Half Italian. Totally stuffed. —Dave Cirilli
Life behind a microphone gets lonely. —Crystal Kash
Wanted world, got world plus lupus. —Liz Futrell
Grumpy old soundman needs love, too. —Lennie Rosengard
Wasn’t born a redhead; fixed that. —Andie Grace
Hugged some trees, then burned them. —Tom Price
Brought it to a boil, often. —Mario Batali
Slightly psychotic; in a good way. —Patricia Neelty
Just a rockin’ readin’ knittin’ kitten. —Emmeline Friedman
Act two curtain brought dramatic improvements. —John Godfrey
From teen witch to queen bitch. —Tavi Gevinson
Learned eventually, Billy Crystal, not Salinger. —Ben Kaplan
Young, skinny, ridiculed. Old, skinny, envied. —Phil Sweet
Discovered moral code via Judy Blume. —Beth Greivel
Older now, I draw myself better. —Peter Arkle
Near death experiences are my forte. —Anna Mauser-Martinez
Never really finished anything, except cake. —Carletta Perkins
Professor/poet morphs into Poet/professor. —Billy Collins
Much married, fourth time is charm. —Erica Jong
Now I blog and drink wine. —Peter Bartlett
ABCs. MTV. SATs. THC. IRA. NPR. —Jancee Dunn
I still make coffee for two. —Zak Nelson
Almost a victim of my family. —Chuck Sangster
Caring for parents. Life is circular. —Tim McGrath
Fourteen years old, story still untold. —David Gidwani
