the japanese fan dance of memoir

'Unlike the page, life is a messy affair. Life just sort of muddles along. Good writing has form.'

I have a secret to tell you: The best confessional writing isn’t the truth. This is not to say that authors of memoirs are outright fabulists. Most of us do not make stuff up in the manner of James Frey and his million little lies. But what most skilled memoirists will admit, usually late at night and after a glass or two of whisky, is that the semblanc…