![TWICE-TOLD TALES](https://cdn.magzter.com/1422886351/1719817369/articles/FSnHEVQ2G1719836202950/TWICETOLD-TALES.jpg)
On time, as anticipated, they have returned, tunnelling into view, leaving their sooty signature. Pale in the sudden light, they fan and flutter their wings. It’s time to sing. Me, they sing. Me, again.
Cicada season has come and gone; it is another class of organism I refer to, in the throes of a parallel drama of ceremonial unwrapping and full-throated song of the self. As if compelled by biological imperatives of their own, these writers—serial memoirists, they’re sometimes called—burst forth with regularly timed tales of tribulation, of molting, of transformation. And each time they tell us they have it figured out. This time, they’ve got the real story for us, the real handle on themselves, on what it’s all about. It’s about living with the ambiguity. Accepting the light and the dark. It’s about (the serial memoirist will say, without a whisper of irony) other people.
To be fair, memoirs have exhibited a tendency to multiply ever since Augustine recalled pocketing those pears. His “Confessions,” which began appearing around 397 C.E., were spread out over thirteen books, each conceived as a distinct unit. In his wake, heavy hitters have included Diana Athill, Shirley MacLaine, Maya Angelou, and Augusten Burroughs, each of whom has produced a proper shelf of memoirs. At work, and advancing: Leslie Jamison, Mary Karr, Lauren Slater.
Bu hikaye The New Yorker dergisinin July 08, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The New Yorker dergisinin July 08, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
![ANTIHERO](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8859/1751212/iZ_mJrjwf1719836837212/ANTIHERO.jpg)
ANTIHERO
“The Boys,” on Prime Video.
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HOW THE WEST WAS LONG
“Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1.”
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WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Taffy Brodesser-Akner weighs the cost of generational wealth.
![TWICE-TOLD TALES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8859/1751212/FSnHEVQ2G1719836202950/TWICETOLD-TALES.jpg)
TWICE-TOLD TALES
The seditious writers who unravel their own stories.
![CASTING A LINE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8859/1751212/zYjGjav-D1719835755852/CASTING-A-LINE.jpg)
CASTING A LINE
The hard-bitten genius of Norman Maclean.
![TEARDROPS ON MY GUITAR](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8859/1751212/F4QZ49jIU1719835464335/TEARDROPS-ON-MY-GUITAR.jpg)
TEARDROPS ON MY GUITAR
Four years ago, when Ivan Cornejo was a junior in high school, he had a meeting with his family to announce that he was dropping out. His parents were alarmed, of course, but his older sister, Pamela, had a more sympathetic reaction, because she also happened to be his manager, and she knew that he wasn’t bluffing when he said that he had to focus on his career.
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THE HADAL ZONE
Arwen Rasmont waits hours at Keflavík International for his flight; they call it as he leaves the men’s room. He walks past the mirrored wall and is assaulted, as usual, by his dead father’s handsome image: high-arched nose, yellow hair.
![OPENING THEORY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8859/1751212/9TQXbGoRi1719833635129/OPENING-THEORY.jpg)
OPENING THEORY
Ivan is standing on his own in the corner while the men from the chess club move the chairs and tables around.
![THE LAST RAVE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8859/1751212/nxcRM0EjJ1719831949168/THE-LAST-RAVE.jpg)
THE LAST RAVE
Remembering a summer of estrangement.
![КАНО](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8859/1751212/ImfnMwa-x1719830891222/.jpg)
КАНО
I’ve dated all kinds of women in my life,” the man said, “but I have to say I’ve never seen one as ugly as you.”