http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/memoir Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sat, 25 Apr 2026 06:00:04 -0400 Sat, 25 Apr 2026 06:00:04 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1725/the-birth-of-the-creative-consciousness-childhood-spaces-memory-and-psychoanalytic-play-in-the-memoirs-of-vladimir-nabokov-and-virginia-woolf By Salman R. Patwary - I argue that the impression of this opening of consciousness for both Nabokov and Woolf, the moment that they realized they were sentient, alive, temporal beings in reality, represented a new birth, into a new creative cosmos, a birth into the realities that are available to everyone, but also others that are more hidden and subtle – the realities of the artist. Essentially, my argument is for this opening to happen to them in childhood left a deep impression, a branding and etching that allowed them to evolve into the artists that they became. Lastly, I argue that this opening of consciousness... Mon, 22 Jan 2018 08:51 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1725/the-birth-of-the-creative-consciousness-childhood-spaces-memory-and-psychoanalytic-play-in-the-memoirs-of-vladimir-nabokov-and-virginia-woolf http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/977/consumption-the-role-of-eating-in-rehabilitation-in-the-memoirs-a-million-little-pieces-and-two-kinds-of-decay By Ezekiel J. Leeds - The relationship between the self and food intersects at the meal, and this vital connection represents—physiologically, psychologically, and socially—one of the most transformative of human acts. This essay seeks to discuss the depiction of food and the self in the memoirs of Sarah Manguso’s “The Two Kinds of Decay” and James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces” in terms of rehabilitation and the recovery process. The impact of food on a person’s recovery can be reflected in their physical self-representations and in their social functioning,... Tue, 30 Dec 2014 02:28 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/977/consumption-the-role-of-eating-in-rehabilitation-in-the-memoirs-a-million-little-pieces-and-two-kinds-of-decay http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/945/spiritual-autobiography-and-dave-eggers-what-is-the-what By Johanna L. Beck - Spiritual autobiographies have a long and rich history as a form of memoir, beginning at about 397AD with the release of Saint Augustine’s Confessions. Since this time, many spiritual works have evolved out of this tradition and are still being produced today. Although not labeled as such, Dave Eggers’ What is the What is a modern version of the spiritual autobiography, following the form and contextual aspects of many of its predecessors as it traces the journey of a Lost Boy and Sudanese refugee to America. This paper serves to compare the traditionally accepted spiritual autobiography... Sat, 06 Dec 2014 08:45 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/945/spiritual-autobiography-and-dave-eggers-what-is-the-what http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/937/the-modern-memoir-popular-confession-and-how-it-sells-a-million-little-pieces By Edward A. Carr - In this context, the reasons that Frey would manipulate key aspects of his memoir are straightforward: in order to make the story more dramatic and compelling, to get his story published, and to sell many copies. In The Limits of Biography: Trauma and Testimony, Leigh Gilmore looks at the emerging popularity of memoir and its relation to trauma culture. Gilmore notes that “the literary market has proved a shaping force. Although it is unclear whether the market has led or followed, market demand currently encourages marketing practices such as subtitling an author’s first book &ldquo... Tue, 04 Nov 2014 05:18 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/937/the-modern-memoir-popular-confession-and-how-it-sells-a-million-little-pieces http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/925/what-is-the-what-as-a-religious-memoir By James K. Aumack - Eggers provides Deng’s account of his experiences as a part of the Lost Boys of Sudan in the Second Sudanese Civil War. The civil war took place from 1983-2005, due in large part to the introduction of Sharia law. According to Robert W. Hefner (1992), “most activists making these appeals [for Sharia law] were mainstream Muslims intent on abiding by what they regarded as the commands of their faith” (p. 1). Although there are varying opinions on the main cause of the second civil war, Ole Frahm (2012) said that the motivating factor for the beginning of the war was, “the... Fri, 17 Oct 2014 11:02 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/925/what-is-the-what-as-a-religious-memoir http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/379/primo-levis-use-of-poetic-language-to-promote-cross-cultural-understanding-in-survival-in-auschwitz By Kristina S. Ten - Though the Holocaust ended nearly a lifetime ago, the systematic extermination of two- thirds of Europe’s Jewish population has left immutable memories that continue to manifest themselves within each new generation of citizens worldwide. The subject itself remains taboo in many circles, surpassing lines of faith and race alike in both its inability to be justified and the terrifying likelihood of its reoccurrence. In Caren S. Neile’s “Poetry after Auschwitz,” the author asks: “Again and again the expression ‘unspeakable horror’ appears in discussions... Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:18 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/379/primo-levis-use-of-poetic-language-to-promote-cross-cultural-understanding-in-survival-in-auschwitz http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/366/dealing-with-time-in-an-autobiography By Rebecca A. Demarest - It is a push on the part of the author to make sense of the “temporality,” the chaos of time which is their life and recollections. The author is faced with a monumental decision in portraying his past because, as Barrett John Mandel argues, “his present creates his past ‘by inspiring meaningless data with interpretation, direction, suggestiveness – life. But as long as I live, my past is rooted in my present and springs to life with my present’” (Renza 271-272). Because of this connection between the past and present, “Temporal perspectives&hellip... Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:48 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/366/dealing-with-time-in-an-autobiography http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/338/memoirs-and-confessions-the-hybrid-form-of-decadent-texts By Jeremy S. Page - Decadent texts are a subclass of literature paradoxically characterised by both creation and decay, and are thus texts that resist a standard classification of genre. That is to say, Decadent texts are always operating with a dual purpose: the literary movement itself critiques and deconstructs the reigning moral and cultural assumptions, while simultaneously creating a collection of works that are to become what they have moments ago destroyed; the Decadent lifestyle is destructive to the undertaking body, yet simultaneously opens up a world of hitherto unobtainable experience. In Oscar Wilde... Wed, 08 Dec 2010 10:46 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/338/memoirs-and-confessions-the-hybrid-form-of-decadent-texts http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/83/the-passage-from-now-to-then-examining-historical-literature-through-marguerite-yourcenars-memoirs-of-hadrian By Deva Jasheway - When considering historical literature that is based upon people who once lived, readers often ask where the details are taken directly from historical accounts, and where they differ. This is a perfectly valid lens through which to view the work, but one should not attach too much importance to faithful adherence to historical accuracy. A novel like Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian undeniably transports the reader back to the time of Hadrian, but it does not relate the progress of his life exactly the way it was. It cannot, because Yourcenar was not a Roman scribe; in this case she was... Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:27 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/83/the-passage-from-now-to-then-examining-historical-literature-through-marguerite-yourcenars-memoirs-of-hadrian