On my way to TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY, I have been reading the John Steinbeck library. Right now I am diving into (and loving into) OF MICE AND MEN. It is partially enhanced–or troubled–by the fact that I have seen the 1939 Lewis Milestone film version with Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, Jr. Can't decide which. This much I know: it's nearly impossible to read the book without hearing the distinctive voices of Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney in your brain-noggin. And this, too: Lon Chaney is one underrated actor. Forget the Wolf Man: this is where this man shines.

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/248944/Of-Mice-and-Men-Movie-Clip-A-Place-Like-That-.html

OUR FINAL BOOK IN MEMOIRS

Will be, yes, TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY. It's wonderful and available in the wonderful 50th Anniversary Edition from Amazon for about $8.99 (including shipping.) Here, under new/used:

http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Charley-Search-America-Classics/dp/0143107003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389806865&sr=8-1&keywords=travels+with+charley

At age 58 John Steinbeck and his venerable standard poodle, Charley, set out on a journey across America in a camper. For three months these companions traveled the nation, meeting friends, strangers, relatives and immersing themselves in the fabric of the country as it was at that time.

John Steinbeck (1902–1968) was born in Salinas, California. He worked as a laborer and a journalist, and in 1935, when he published Tortilla Flat, he achieved popular success and financial security. Steinbeck wrote more than twenty-five novels and won the Nobel Prize in 1962.

from the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW: 

"Pure delight, a pungent potpourri of places and people interspersed with bittersweet essays on everything from the emotional difficulties of growing old to the reasons why giant sequoias arouse such awe."

“I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found.”

--Travels with Charley, 1960

A Detail from THE RED LEATHER DIARY

During Florence's studies at Columbia, She mentions that her friend Gertrude would someday marry poet/writer Delmore Schwartz. It is spoken of off-handedly enough to be easily forgotten, but the description of his most famous story, "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities", is harder to forget or ignore. Here's the essential outline of this short masterpiece:

The story tells of an unnamed young man who has a dream that he is in an old-fashioned movie theater in 1909. As he sits down to watch the film, he starts to realize that it is a motion picture documenting his parents' courtship...

Care to continue? Here is a PDF link to this wonderful story, written by Delmore when he was only twenty-one years old ...

http://myteacherpages.com/webpages/klopez/files/In%20Dreams%20Begin%20Responsibilities.pdf

Interesting fun fact: Delmore Schwartz was the man who inspired Lou Reed as a writer, before he founded the proto-punk band, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. One of his most famous songs, EUROPEAN SON, was dedicated to Delmore. Many critics posited reasons why, until Lou Reed finally admitted that Delmore Schwartz once told him that the worst thing about rock 'n roll was the lyrics: EUROPEAN SON, a seven minutes song had, in deference to Schwartz's, only one short verse:

http://grooveshark.com/s/European+Son/2fXLdn?src=5

"ACE DADDY, GYM RAT, BALZOLAN REPORTER, PH.D"

As we consider the memoir, why don't we consider the brevity?

Recently, a group of well-known authors, artists, musicians and others were asked to write their own 7 word memoir and here is the result.

Naturally, when you ask rebels of art to do something, they often find a twist or break a rule. See here how many refused to adhere to the '7 word limit' (many over, at least one under, and one–John Irving–who dared to try on memoirs of others, such as Dickens and Melville.)

Enjoy!

LINK: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/07/11/nypl-live-holdengraber-7-word-bios/