Margaux Fragoso Discusses the Recent Surge in Memoir Publication

NEW YORK, NY, July 09, 2012 (Press-News.org) USA Today released a "book roundup" of four of the publishing industry's most recent memoirs. Once a small part of the publishing world, memoirs have become increasingly popular with readers. In fact, over the last few years, there seems to have been a surge in memoir on the stands of popular booksellers. Margaux Fragoso, author of Tiger, Tiger, shares her insight regarding why memoir has become so popular and whether or not the genre will continue to sell.

The books featured by USA Today include publications by Shawn Colvin, a famous musician, Anthony Swofford, author of the acclaimed Jarhead, Janet Groth, a receptionist at The New Yorker, and Alyssa Shelasky, former girlfriend of a celebrity chef. Through their respective publications, these authors share their experiences with readers.

Margaux Fragoso believes that the power of the memoir lies in its ability to allow readers to experience another person's life. Memoirs are, by definition, true accounts of the writer's experiences. Although they take more creative liberty than traditional autobiographies, they must be fact-based to be marketed as non-fiction.

Although non-fiction was once perceived as the more "boring" counterpart to fiction, memoir is proving that today's readers are interested in the lives of real people.

"I don't think memoir is a genre that will vanish any time soon," commented Margaux Fragoso. "In our current society of isolated nuclear families, instead of the past model of extended families and close-knit communities, readers have an ever-pressing need to understand the lives of others in order to better comprehend and cope with their own. A slew of recent memoirs explore experiences as diverse as Jarhead author Anthony Swofford's struggles to cope with fame-induced addictions as well as his painful recollections of a tormented Vietnam Vet dad and New Yorker receptionist Janet Groth's whimsical account of day to day encounters with larger than life personages, like J.D. Salinger and Woody Allen. Contemporary memoirs like these thrive because of their ability to make us all feel a little less freakish, a tad less boring, and much more comfortable dealing with our real life problems."

Margaux Fragoso thinks that, as long as readers continue to show interest in the genre, writers will keep sharing their unique stories with the world, and we're all the better for that.

ABOUT:

Margaux Fragoso wrote the critically acclaimed memoir, Tiger, Tiger. She has also written numerous short stories, articles, and poems. Margaux Fragoso has published her work in several different places, both online and in print, including NPR, Margie, and The Literary Review, among others. Through her writing, Margaux Fragoso is able to share new ideas, perspectives, and insights. She earned her Ph.D. and MA from SUNY Binghamton and her BA from New Jersey City University. Currently, she is working on her next writing project and spending time with her family.

Website: http://margauxfragoso.net