August Member of the Month, Lenore Greiner. Q & A with Laura Engel
L.E. Have you always been a writer?
L.G. .Ever since 4th grade when Sister Mary David told my parents that “Lenore writes the most wonderful stories.” And I’ve been a travel writer since my 20s.
L.E. How did you discover SDMWA?
L.G. Found out through the irrepressible Marni Freedman while earning my Memoir Certificate in her program at SD Writers Ink.
L.E. Have you been taking writing classes/workshops and are you in any writing groups? If so where and have they made a big impact on your writing?
L.G. I’m always learning, attending writing classes, workshops & conferences. At SD Writers Ink I’ve taken dozens of helpful classes.
Right now, I’m in Marni’s Read & Critique group and it keeps me honest.
It’s always important to learn, push myself & get others’ input on my writing. Since I’m always alone while creating it.
A big influence is attending many annual Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conferences. Great for networking & getting assignments. It’s like summer camp for travel writers when our tribe gathers once a year in Marin County. Alas, this year it’s cancelled.
L.E. Please tell us about your work and your memoir.
L.G. Working on my memoir entitled “Brava.” Here’s the blurb:
“We might have heard this story before—a teenaged woman leaves her comfortable life in Marin County and heads to Italy for a year-long adventure with dreams of becoming a writer. But this memoir stands out for its frank honesty about the author’s emotional journey, struggling with sexual assault alone in a foreign country and desiring to become resilient and independent. Years later, still haunted, she returns to her former Italian home and then to her grandfather’s village; there, her ancestral history shows her how to heal. “I am on this spirit quest,” she writes. “This is where I learn to survive in this world.”
L.E. You were a winner in the 2019 Memoir Showcase with your scene, Translating Respect was published in Shaking The Tree 2 (Congratulations!) Please tell us about that experience.
L.G. It was so rewarding, especially reading my piece out loud to audience. It all came about after Marni told me that I’d do my best writing when I write about my most difficult experiences. Out of my creativity, my memoir bloomed.
L.E. What are some of your favorite Memoirs and who are your favorite Authors?
L.G. I have a book shelf full of memoirs. Favs include:
“Under the Indian Sun,” by Rumor & Jon Godden, about their childhood in India during the British Raj.
“The Dove” by Robin Lee Graham, a 16-year old who sailed the world alone.
“Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert, who went to the same ashram in India as I did.
“Girl, An Untethered Life,” by Julia Brigden. One of the first San Francisco 60s hippie girls, who married into Marin County rock royalty and knew everybody. Even I knew her.
“West with The Night,” by Beryl Markham, who knew Isak Dinesen in Kenya and was the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic. Very elegant writer.
Favorite author is Tim Cahill, who single-handedly invented American adventure travel writing. Everything by him is on my bookshelf.
L.E. Any advice for new writers?
L.G. Throughout history, writers have created great art during pandemics.
Kathrine Anne Porter’s “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” story collection has a magnificent, autobiographical story about love and loss during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. So don’t let our situation today stop you from writing.
In my memoir classes, I was always amazed at the stunning stories first time writers brought in. So, please, don’t fear the blank page. Get it all out and within that big messy pile you’ve created, you’ll find gold to mine. And don’t be afraid of your shitty first draft either. It’s shitty for a reason – it’s your gift to yourself for creating beautiful writing.
L.E. Thank you Lenore and Congratulations on being SDMWA August 2020 Member of the Month!