Post-it Note #24

In which I explore Autobiographies in my Daily Notes

What’s the difference between Memoir and Autobiography? Well, it’s a bit blurry and makes me wonder if I’ve ever read any autobiographies at all. Perhaps they were all in fact Memoirs.

An autobiography seems to be linear, chronological with a clear start and end.

A memoir can be more rambling. Hope that helps!

My illustration today is my mixed media painting of a swan (who wrote a memoir of its childhood, The Ugly Duckling).

My mixed-media painting of a swan.

Every time I ask the Internet, “What’s the best selling autobiography?” it gives me a different answer, and it’s usually based on some kind of algorithm trail that I’ve left myself.

So, being so close to Holocaust Memorial Day, I’m going to go with one of the most important autobiographies instead, The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank.

And my illustration today, is my acrylic painting, Young Girl from the Hamer Tribe, Ethiopia. I have visited the Hamer tribe in Ethiopia but my painting is from a photograph (with kind permission) by Joyce Le Mesurier who also visited. There is so much of a story here too.

My acrylic painting, Young Girl from the Hamer Tribe (Ethiopia)

The first autobiography was written in Latin in around 400AD, by St Augustine of Hippo. He titled it Confessions.

The first autobiography written in English, in the early 15th Century, is The Book of Margery Kempe.

Have you read either/both of these? I would love to.

My illustration today features my charcoal drawing of a young woman from the Hamer Tribe, Ethiopia. A country with strong links to the earliest humanity.

Attitude my charcoal drawing of a woman from the Hamer Tribe, Ethiopia

Good grief, the longest autobiography is apparently that of Giacomo Casanova who wrote 12 volumes about himself.

He was also an early fan of the open-necked shirt.

My illustration today is a painting of a young man wearing a very sensible polo-neck jumper. I wonder what Casanova would have to say about that?

JD Salinger and Marilyn Monroe both refused to publish autobiographies in their lifetimes. I wonder what they would make of all the words that have been written about them since their deaths?

Have you read A Life Raised High by Kenneth Slawenski, about Salinger? It looks good, do you think he would have approved?

My illustration today is my painting of a goose, who absolutely refuses to let anyone get too close to them.

I hope you enjoyed having a gander at my Notes. May your day be worthy of a chapter in your own autobiography!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a brand new topic for next week.

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