In the reading of “The Involvement of Art with Craft” Frank Mathias which is a World War II veteran that is caught in a struggle to write a memoir that reflects his days a war GI. He wants to write a memoir that is completely plausible and factual. He stresses that there was very little memoirs published after the World War I and World War II. He uses dialogue from the time that he served in the war in is memoir. He found letters in his basement which played a very big part in writing is memoir. He uses the letters to recollect dialogue and write a memoir of the man he used to be forty years before. He planned to fit fine art into is memoir with facts, chronology and a little imagination. He tells of stories from back in the days of war and how they affected his and his outlook on war. He tells us how he has grown from a boy who though he knew everything and frightened machine gunner to the man that he is today. He attempts to turn years of memories and experience into sentences while trying not to destroy his memoirs historical accuracy. He tells us that as a memoirist he is faced with materials in which he must use and discard. He says that any memoirist committed to the truth is soon faced with limitations of choice. He says this is perhaps the greatest discipline of memoir writing. He informs us that gradually writing a memoir is truly a blend of arts and craft and a writer must involve himself emotionally in the memoir. My reaction to this reading was very overwhelming because I at one point thought about entering the military. In the reading it talks about the soldiers playing cards and just moments later they are attacked by bomber planes.

1. Why does his imagination play a role in the writing of his memoir?
2. Was the first Kamikaze attack overwhelmingly destructive?
3. How long did it take him to write his memoir?

I read the FSU reading “Knocked Up” by Nicole Filmore. This reading talks about teenager being pregnant at a very young age. The United States Teenage Pregnancy statistic tells us that Almost 750,000 teenagers between the ages of seventeen and nineteen get pregnant each year. In the reading it talks about the sister of the female that is pregnant and the variety of things that she must do for her little sister. The older sister complains of the lack of attention that the she is receiving. My reaction to this reading was very emphatic because I once too was a contributor to one of those 750,000 teenage statistics.

1. Since giving birth to a child how has your life changed?
2. Where your parents supportive of the pregnancy from the beginning?
3. How did your father feel when he first found out?


My Third reading was of “Sing with Me Somehow” by Alison Slusarczyk. This reading was an emotional piece because of the bond that she shares within her family. When her sister was getting arrested she pleads to the cop. The second born which is Mary has a baby. In the beginning of her memoir she writes about memories of her family. She talks about the song of their parents and that they would buy them notebooks every birthday and holiday. Anna is an abusive drug user and her boyfriend died in a car accident. My reaction to this reading was very compelling. I can tell that the narrator has been through some difficult times in her life. We all go through difficult times its how we deal with them is what counts. I believed she dealt with her situations very well. This is one quote I will never forget “Perseverance often decides who succeed and who fails in life”.

1. How did you feel after your sister was arrested?
2. Would you change anything from your childhood?
3. Do you believe everything happens for a reason?