A memoir (from French: mémoire: memoria, meaning memory or reminiscence) is a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public or private that took place in the subject's life. The assertions made in the work are understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiography since the late 20th century, the genre is differentiated in form, presenting a narrowed focus. A biography or autobiography tells the story of a life, while a memoir often tells a story from a life, such as touchstone events and turning points from the author's life. The author of a memoir may be referred to as a memoirist.
Memoirs have been written since the ancient times, as shown by Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, also known as Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. In the work, Caesar describes the battles that took place during the nine years that he spent fighting local armies in the Gallic Wars. His second memoir, Commentarii de Bello Civili (or Commentary on the Civil War) is an account of the events that took place between 49 and 48 before the Common Era in the civil war against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Senate. The noted Libanius, teacher of rhetoric who lived between an estimated 314 and 394 in the Common Era, framed his life memoir as one of his literary orations, which were written to be read aloud in the privacy of his study. This kind of memoir refers to the idea in ancient Greece and Rome, that memoirs were like "memos", or pieces of unfinished and unpublished writing, which a writer might use as a memory aid to make a more finished document later on.
Memoir is a literary genre or a reminiscence, a subclass of autobiography.
Memoir may also refer to:
For example:
Memoir (published in North America as All Will Be Well) is an autobiographical account of the childhood of Irish writer John McGahern. It was published in 2005, and the writer died in 2006. It recalls, amongst other things, his formative years in the north-west of Ireland, the death of his beloved mother, Susan, and his relationship with his dark and enigmatic father. Themes from his childhood experiences run throughout his canon of fiction.
There is music and laughter lately
and there's prayers and praise there
are reasons to be so happy and beliefs to embrace
there are times to be so angry I'd rather lie in the sun
It's the summer of my lifetime
I've been blessed with some fun
I'm a season past springtime
and my life has gone boom
keep my eyes on the Father
everything is in bloom
Everything will just get better
through the seasons I'll roam
when all of the music's over
I will get to go home
I don't need theology
to know that God's been good to me
He's given me a family
and a place to lay my head
Flung into the great unknown
I was walking on my own
now I'll never walk alone
if I did I would be dead
I can't use it all myself
so I take it off the shelf here it is,
enjoy yourself put away your drudgery,
use it up,
there's always more
that's what it's intended for
be the Lord's ambassador