Appeal of Writing Memoirs Grows, as Do Publishing Options By Elizabeth Olson

Writing the Memoir. No one keeps an official tally of enrollees, but teachers like Wendy Salinger, who conducts a summer memoir writing course at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, said retirees made up a substantial portion of these classes. “We help them understand that a memoir covers an aspect of their life,” said Ms. Salinger, who has written her own. “A memoir is not an autobiography that tells a life from beginning to end. A memoir has to tap into a universal truth.” There have long been memoirs, often written by celebrities and politicians. But recent bare-all personal tales like “Wild,” in which Cheryl Strayed unsparingly examines her life during a grueling hike on a Pacific Northwest trail, are inspiring more people to be increasingly candid about experiences that were once carefully hidden. “There are a lot of scenes my students write that knock my socks off,” Ms. Salinger said, “because people have to look inward to be honest, and that can be very difficult.” The confessional writing that results from such self-examination grates on some who find it self-indulgent or even cynical, and the genre got publicly sullied in 2006 when writer James Frey was caught mixing fiction with truth in his popular memoir “A Million Little Pieces.” But the genre has endured and even thrived. “It’s the age of memoirs,” Ms. Salinger said, as self-publishing has made it easier and more accessible to plumb an individual’s past and share it widely. And many do so because they believe memoir writing is therapeutic and revelatory. “A memoir can be a beautiful literary effort, or a sensational pop culture piece,” Ms. Todd, “and people want to read them.” The New York Times

Malala Yousafzai - Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Chime for Change Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi share Nobel Peace Prize By Laura Smith-Spark (CNN) -- The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai for their struggles against the suppression of children and for young people's rights, including the right to education. CNN

Journey Faithfully

Journey Faithfully 1994

Laura Pausini "Le Cose Che Vivi" San Siro

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REO Speedwagon "Roll With the Changes"

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Monaco's impressive contribution to World Expo 2015 By Madeleine Adey

The construction of Monaco’s impressive pavilion has begun in preparation for the 2015 World Expo in Milan. Monaco will be one of 144 countries represented at the expo, which will focus on the way in which food unites people of different cultures and religions, as well as the profound concerns it raises. The design is particularly impressive and echoes the theme of the expo of ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.’ The Italian architect who designed the pavilion, Enrico Pollini, based it on three themes: shipping containers, transport and storage elements. The sloping grass roof garden represents the landscape of the south east of France, where the mountains descend towards the sea. The inside of the pavilion will house recycled wooden crates forming a kind of 'ideas workhouse' with 11 distinct stations. Each station will represent an environmental topic, such as sustainable fishing, deforestation, the surge in jellyfish numbers and ocean acidification, for example. There will also be services including a restaurant, as well as a VIP lounge and terrace for private visitors. The event, which will begin in May 2015 and end in October, is a non-commercial universal exposition held every five years, attracting millions of visitors who are able to explore pavilions, exhibitions and cultural events put on by hundreds of participants including nations, international organisations and businesses. The interests of the event do not lie only with the participants and visitors, however. Each expo aims to have a wider impact on cultural, social and environmental transformation, leaving behind a positive legacy not only for the country in which it is held but hopefully for the rest of the world. This year’s theme will therefore explore the problems surrounding nutrition alongside the resources of our planet, with the aim of opening up a global dialogue to exchange views on these extremely relevant issues. The Monaco Times