Memoir Fragments 7-8-06
Title
Memoir Fragments 7-8-06
Creator
Jacob Schlitt
Description
"When you write your memoirs, you write what you remember, but as the years go by, I feel I am remembering less and less."
Date
2006-07-08
Format
application/pdf
Type
text
Language
en
Identifier
2006_Memoirs_7
Text
Memoir Fragments 7-8-06
When you write your memoirs, you write what you remember, but as the years go by, I feel I am remembering less and less. My two inspirations these days are Philip Roth and Donald Murray. I have just finished Roth's Plot Against America and am now reading Everyman, a gift from my wife and son. And I try to read Murray every week but I never remember to seek him out on Tuesdays, and when I pile up a bunch of papers before throwing them out, I have a hard time separating out Tuesday, then the arts section, so I miss him more often than I read him.
The lesson I take away from them relates to remembering details, and I no longer can. But do they "remember" or do they "research"? One example: Roth is writing about a burial, and the monuments in the cemetery. I just sent off to Jewish Currents the remarks of Lewis and David at the unveiling of my "father’s and mother’s" monument, and looked over the booklet from Stonecrest Memorials describing "Jewish Memorial Custom and Tradition." I was surprised and somewhat shocked to read Roth describing the various symbols carved on monuments: "Most were engraved with the Star of David while others were more elaborately decorated with a pair of blessing hands or a pitcher or a five-branched candelabrum. From Stonecrest p. 12: "The most frequently used symbol …is the Star of David. On the monument for a Koen the symbol of the two hands with thumbs and forefingers touching, and on the monument of a Levi the symbol of a pitcher…On a woman’s monument the menorah….This usually has five lights." Memory or research?
I have been awestruck by Roth’s detailed descriptions and realize that he had to do a lot of research to learn about the period, the business, the community, the medical condition etc. Yet I thought I was supposed to remember everything I write about since I am writing about MY life. I want to check things out—I’ve got file cabinets full of papers, but it is too much trouble trying to find the right files.
When you write your memoirs, you write what you remember, but as the years go by, I feel I am remembering less and less. My two inspirations these days are Philip Roth and Donald Murray. I have just finished Roth's Plot Against America and am now reading Everyman, a gift from my wife and son. And I try to read Murray every week but I never remember to seek him out on Tuesdays, and when I pile up a bunch of papers before throwing them out, I have a hard time separating out Tuesday, then the arts section, so I miss him more often than I read him.
The lesson I take away from them relates to remembering details, and I no longer can. But do they "remember" or do they "research"? One example: Roth is writing about a burial, and the monuments in the cemetery. I just sent off to Jewish Currents the remarks of Lewis and David at the unveiling of my "father’s and mother’s" monument, and looked over the booklet from Stonecrest Memorials describing "Jewish Memorial Custom and Tradition." I was surprised and somewhat shocked to read Roth describing the various symbols carved on monuments: "Most were engraved with the Star of David while others were more elaborately decorated with a pair of blessing hands or a pitcher or a five-branched candelabrum. From Stonecrest p. 12: "The most frequently used symbol …is the Star of David. On the monument for a Koen the symbol of the two hands with thumbs and forefingers touching, and on the monument of a Levi the symbol of a pitcher…On a woman’s monument the menorah….This usually has five lights." Memory or research?
I have been awestruck by Roth’s detailed descriptions and realize that he had to do a lot of research to learn about the period, the business, the community, the medical condition etc. Yet I thought I was supposed to remember everything I write about since I am writing about MY life. I want to check things out—I’ve got file cabinets full of papers, but it is too much trouble trying to find the right files.
Original Format
application/msword
Collection
Citation
Jacob Schlitt, “Memoir Fragments 7-8-06,” Autobiographical stories & other writing by Jacob Schlitt, accessed April 28, 2024, https://tsirlson.omeka.net/items/show/29.