Summary:
The memoir by Frank F. Mathias was very interesting, Frank was a veteran and a musician who felt the need (partially due to a lack of memoir writings) to write about his own personal experiences in war. But the as the reader I slowly learned it was much more than a man’s fascinating story, but also a bridge between history and artistic writing. It became clearer to me how I could relate this to my first assignment in which Jerry Waxler advocated the therapeutic affects that a memoir can have on a writer. I could only imagine the story this man had to tell and also the time and thought it must have taken to elegantly transfer his memories and experiences to a memoir that others could enjoy. In the memoir he talks about how he became interested in writing and lists some previous examples of things he had written before.
I also read some writings from FSU students. I especially enjoyed the one entitled “Far From Wonderland.” It was very unusual, it was about a girl named Alice (obviously based on Alice in wonderland) but the story was like a dark demented twist from the original.

Response:
I thought the memoir by Frank F. Mathias very informative. It brushed on a little bit of history but was mainly about his writings and the tie between writing and historic events. It was interesting and I could imagine why Frank chose to write such a memoir. War is a very intense experience for everyone and Frank Mathias seems to have found a very good outlet for those intense experiences through his writing. I could easily and obviously tell he was very passionate about writing and was trying to channel that passion through his words.
I also read the FSU student writings which I found to be more entertaining than Frank Mathias’s memoir (although it was also good). The one entitled “sing with me softly” was very sad but extremely well written and defiantly had an emotional pull. I also really enjoyed reading “Far From Wonderland.” I thought that was the most interesting piece I read because of the randomness and oddity that kept increasing as the story went on.

Questions:
Why did Frank Mathias focus so much on previous writings he had done?

Could a made-up story that symbolizes a real life event be considered a memoir?

How does a person know if an event or time in their life is worth writing a memoir about it? Or how do you sort your life into worthy or unworthy moments?