The Memoir Project

Having lived through most of the decades of the twentieth century, seniors have seen and participated in sweeping changes in history, technology, culture, communities and the arts, and are in a unique and powerful position to offer their memories and interpretations of those changes. Grub Street seeks to honor the voices of these seniors and help refine them so that current and future generations can learn from them.

The Memoir Project leads writing workshops for seniors and provides training to a corps of instructors and coaches, who share their expertise with participants. The program has three main goals: to teach students the basics of effective storytelling and help them shape lived experiences into vivid and memorable prose, to document their lives and preserve their insights for future generations and their families, and to give seniors a meaningful artistic experience that adds value and purpose to their lives.

Launched in 2006 in collaboration with the City of Boston, the Memoir Project has reached hundreds of seniors in the Boston area. This year the Project will bring its unique workshops to the history-rich island of Nantucket as well. Grub Street is proud to be helping seniors turn their memories into narratives with lasting value.

The Memoir Project, Nantucket

In 2010, the Memoir Project conducted workshops on Nantucket in collaboration with the Nantucket Writers Studio. This produced the collection Little Gray Island.





The Memoir Project, Boston

Hassell

The Memoir Project was launched in 2006, in partnership with the City of Boston, to teach seniors the craft of writing. Since its inception, the Project has planned and executed writing workshops in fourteen Boston neighborhoods, held public readings at bookstores and the Boston Public Library, and created a energetic community of seniors interested in writing and the arts. The Memoir Project has published three anthologies, and stories from the collections have been integrated into Boston public school curricula. Click here to read more about the history of the Project and exciting upcoming Memoir Project plans in Boston.

Upcoming Events

  1. An Afternoon of Memoirs: Stories from the South End. Join us Monday, June 3rd, 1-3 p.m. at the THE HARVARD CLUB OF BOSTON, Aesculapian Room 374 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA {Back Bay} for a public reading celebrating the work of the South End writers of The Memoir Project.


    2. Press Coverage

    Below is some of our favorite coverage of the Memoir Project from over the years.

    1. "Boston's Elderly Memoir Project." Morning Edition, 4.23.07 on American Public Radio
    2. "Memoirs of the Elderly." Weekend America, 12.9.2006 on American Public Radio
    3. "One More Time, With Feeling: Elders in Memoir Project Writing About Their Past." The Boston Globe, 8.20.06
    4. Interview on CCTV with Alexis Rizzuto, our head coach, and Sona and Anthony Frissora, participants in the North End. Hear the segment podcast at http://web.mac.com/dmitriproductions. From this homepage click on podcast, then click on the second one down, Sona and Anthony Frissora