The Aspen Institute

Richard Blanco, Kiese Laymon, Dani Shapiro, Erika Mallin

Award-winning memoirists from Miami, Jackson, Mississippi and New York City who tackled the subject of identity and feelings of otherness in their country and in their homes, spoke of what compelled them to share their stories in an incisive conversation co-presented with Aspen Words. In the excerpt below the authors speak about the transcendent qualities of memoir and the search for truth in their writing.

For video of the entire conversation and more information visit: https://www.aspenideas.org/sessions/the-art-of-the-memoir