Autobiography vs. Memoir

In certain circles, the terms “autobiography” and “memoir” have become ubiquitous, interchangeable, catch-alls used to describe any book-length work of nonfiction, literary or mainstream. If we look at a few definitions , it also becomes clear that there is no real consensus when it comes to classifying these genres:

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     “Autobiographies are distinguished from memoirs (also produced for public consumption), whose authors render an 
     account of the people and events they have known and experienced without providing the detailed reflection and 
     introspection characteristic of most autobiographies. . . . . Memoirs differ from autobiographies in their degree of 
     outward focus. While they can be considered a form of autobiographical writing, their personalized accounts tend to 
     focus more on what the writer has witnessed than on his or her own life, character, and developing self.”

                                             ―The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms


     “Memoirs may be manipulated and selective, especially in an individual’s old age, but they remain, after all, a record of the 
     author’s personal window onto a particular era. Amusing, informative, possibly deceitful, often self-deceiving, memoirs 
     are extended self-portraits that, whether pompous or humble, reflect the time in which they are composed—even if they 
     do not shed much light on the author’s character.”

                                             ―Nigel Hamilton, How to Do Biography: A Primer
 

     “Unlike autobiography, which moves in a dutiful line from birth to fame, memoir narrows the lens, focusing on a time in 
     the writer’s life that was unusually vivid, such as childhood or adolescence, or that was framed by war or travel or public 
     service or some other special circumstance.”

                                             ―William Zinsser, Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir


     “Autobiography is celebrity oriented (Elizabeth Taylor writes an autobiography; Ms. Ordinary Woman writes a memoir), 
     based on the subject’s 'life of action,' and thus told more historically than impressionistically—unlike a memoir. . . . 
     Autobiography tends toward both a certain documentary sensibility and a well-defined chronological structure. Also, 
     since the goal of the celebrity autobiographer is usually to place him- or herself in a positive light, it’s frequently not a 
     search for moral or emotional truths or psychological insight. . . . 

     What also distinguishes memoir from autobiography is the use of at least two 'voices' to tell the story, to explore the depth 
     of events: one I call an 'innocent' voice, the other an 'experienced' voice. The innocent voice relates the facts of the story, 
     the surface subject, the action—not altogether unlike autobiography. . . . The experienced voice, on the other hand, 
     plunges us deeper into the story by employing metaphor, irony, and reflection to reveal the author’s progression of 
     thought and emotion. It reveals what the facts mean, both intellectually and emotionally.”

                                             ―Sue William Silverman, The Meandering River: An Overview of the Subgenres of Creative Nonfiction


     “Memoir mines the past, examining it for shape and meaning, in the belief that from that act a larger, communal meaning 
     can emerge.”

                                             ―Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola, Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction


I list from these authors in the hopes that you will, if you are serious about writing nonfiction, track down the works and read them yourself. There’s a lot more interesting information where this comes from and it is worth your time and effort. As you can see, there’s contradiction between the various definitions I've included here. So let’s take a closer look at a few of these quotes, shall we?

While I often rely on my Bedford glossary as one of the more definitive and reliable sources when it comes to understanding literary terms, I see some problems with the definitions it offers here—namely in the point that autobiography encourages deeper reflection and introspection, whereas memoir simply focuses on what the author has observed (and not the development of that author’s “self”).

(Note: I'm using the 2003 edition of this particular book; it's possible these definitions have since been updated.)

We could all come up with examples that fit these definitions, but in my experience, the opposite is more often true. An autobiography seems to function as a historical text (it’s aim: to document verifiable fact and anecdote; it’s scope: the totality of the author’s life), whereas a memoir is more or less a search for intellectual and emotional significance (it’s aim: to interrogate the author's past; it’s scope: a slice of the author’s life). In this regard, I find Sue William Silverman’s definition to be far more helpful in understanding the difference between these genres. (You can read her entire article about the difference between genres by clicking on the link above.) I also find helpful this quote from her craft book Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir: “The goal of memoir is less to replicate life and more to craft it into art. We’re writing a life, not xeroxing it.”

The Nigel Hamilton quote is interesting and worth considering, as well. Nothing is strictly incorrect about what Hamilton says here, it does become clear that Hamilton views memoir as autobiography-lite: a memoir might give us a glimpse into a certain time and place, might reminisce pleasantly, but it doesn't provide the “intimate, public, self-exploration” that autobiography does.

Again, this seems off-base to me. Traditionally, biography has served as the go-to genre for singing the praises of “Great Men.” (And autobiography has existed as an alternative for those who don’t trust others to do the job right.) Recently, this trend has changed somewhat, but most autobiography remains primarily a “celebrity" genre, whereas memoir has proved more egalitarian. 

A number of factors may account for Hamilton’s position. (For one thing, he is a professional biographer whose subjects have included Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.) It’s also possible that Hamilton’s position on memoir is a backlash against the way that memoir has been used as a marketing term lately, with the emergence of “celebrity memoir.”

Though there are certainly some excellent memoirs written by famous people available for us to read, there are also a number of books that enjoy their popularity because of the fact that their writers are famous (or, in some cases, infamous) . In these cases, the writing itself may not be especially impressive and the subject matter may not be intellectually or emotionally compelling. The term memoir becomes unfairly adopted to describe these books—by academics and historians who would seek to distance their work (autobiography) from these shoddier pieces, by publishers who believe that the term autobiography (with its undertone of thick tomes and voluminous research) might turn away the mainstream demographic. The result: memoir becomes something of a four-letter word. 

The following is a graphic that might help us to differentiate between autobiography and memoir as we use the terms in my creative writing courses. (Please note: this isn't a conclusive list—as we know, there are exceptions to every rule, wonderful books that defy all easy classification.)

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Autobiography

• Historical

• Chronological
  

• Favors documentable fact

• Less likely to employ fictive devices

• Subject is typically famous

• Covers (most of) the writer's life
  

• Strives to be exhaustive about its subject
  

• Less prone to reflection and editorializing
  

• Typically, a writer will only ever write one autobiography

Memoir

• Impressionistic

• May be chronological or anachronistic/non-linear/episodic
  

• Favors memory and imagination
  

• More likely to employ fictive devices

• Memoirists don’t have to be famous
  

• May only cover a certain segment or slice of life

• Focuses on a distinct theme—perhaps a specific time, place, job, relationship, or other aspect of life

• Interrogates its facts and story in order to illustrate their intellectual and emotional significance

• Because of the reasons above, one can write multiple memoirs. (Consider Mary Karr who wrote The Liars' Club [1995] about her childhood, Cherry [2000] about her late adolescence and early womanhood, and Lit [2009] which addresses her alcoholism and conversion to Catholicism. Karr has become famous in writing circles, but she was not otherwise famous when she started writing—not like Billie Holiday or George Patton, Amelia Earhart or Cher)
  

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So how do you define memoir, Dear Reader? Share your thoughts in the comments below.