During Oscars week this year I asked the writers in my memoir classes to choose a title of one of the films nominated for best picture. “Use that title as the writing prompt for your next 500-word essay.” No one chose Dunkirk. And just like at the Oscars, “The Shape of Water” won the most […]

I’m piggybacking on the Mondays with Mike post about civics this week with an essay written by Mel Washburn. Mel is a writer in one of the memoir-writing classes I lead for The Village Chicago, and the essay he came up with for the prompt, “A Song from Your Teenage Years That Sticks With You” […]

…don’t despair! our interview with Justin Kaufmann on The Download is already available online. Just link here to the WGN Radio site and hit the button marked “play.” I’m about to do that myself right now to see how we sound — the interview went by so quickly it’s all a blur! I’ll say goodbye […]

When Regan Burke and I were on WGN radio in January touting the benefits of memoir-writing, Justin Kaufmann, host of The Download, said over the air that “Stories by seniors make for great radio,” and that they should “have Beth on again with more writers from the memoir classes.” I contacted Justin and his producer […]

I tuned into Fresh Air Monday right in the middle of an interview with a guy they said was a cartoonist well-known for his series, “The Pain — When Will It End?” Host Dave Davies was asking the guy questions. Where did his impulse to express himself this way come from, what was his process for […]