There's something about catching a great story from the car radio. Perhaps it's because I'm fairly manic when I drive to work, but occasionally the NPR stars align and I am privy to something that captures my full attention. Traffic, pedestrians, long red lights—at this time present no obstacle. With a good story, I'm almost happy to see them. And this morning I heard one that is worth listening to again if you have a few minutes. It's about the Six-Word Memoir Project.
Here's the upshot
Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” In November 2006, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own Six-Word Memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).
Since then, Six-Word Memoir project has become a global phenomenon and a bestselling book series. Six-Word Memoirs have been featured in hundreds of media outlets from NPR to The New Yorker, covered on tens of thousands of blogs, and, as of Summer 2010, can be found inside 1 million Honest Tea bottle caps.
Hundreds of thousands of people have shared their own short life story at smithmag.net, as well as in classrooms, churches, and at live Six-Word “slams” across the world. The Six-Word Memoir exemplifies the best of SMITH Magazine’s storytelling mission: populist, participatory, inspirational, and addictive. From speed dating to parlor games, to conferences and staff retreats, Six-Word Memoirs have become a powerful tool to inspire conversation around a big idea, and a simple way for individuals to break the ice.
Anticipating the microblogging explosion, SMITH originally launched Six-Word Memoirs in November 2006 as a simple online challenge asking:“Can you tell your life story in six words?”
In a partnership with Twitter (among the company’s first outside projects), SMITH’s followers were sent one six-word story a day. Within weeks, the blogosphere was buzzing about the challenge. The rest is history…
Looking at the categories on the project's website, I was not surprised by many of them. They include love, advice, happiness, questions and pain and hope. Some categories addressed some demographics: Moms, Teens, Dads, and Jewish. Others pertain to the daily grind: Work.
But in my mind, there is one glaring oversight: sports. I thought that golf could have its very own category, let alone fall under sports. Some of the very best headlines in all of news have not only come from sports, but they have done so in six words or less.
So let this blog posting serve as the inspiration for a new category, or at least the source of it... please add your own! Many have a back story that is worth discovering too. And, to be true to this blog, I added a corresponding list of Spirituality in Six Words. Enjoy.
Sports in Six Words
- Giants Win the Pennant! Giants Win...
- Total Ball Security
- We are ND
- Fight On
- Roll Tide
- War Eagle
- Who's Got It Better Than Us?
- Juuuust a bit outside....
- Laugh, Think, Cry. Everyday
- If you build it...
- Booyah
- Yo Adrien!
- I Hate Tennis
- Greatest of All Time: Muhammad Ali
- That's a Gimme
- Ham and Egg this
- Burn the Boat
- No Losses, Only Lessons
- Game, Set, Match
- Play Like a Champion Today
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| ADIDAS was into the Six-Word Project before anyone else! |
- I believe in things visible & invisible (Cheating I know)
- He is Risen, Alleluia!
- Notre Dame, Our Mother
- Christ be Our Light
- I come to bring glad tidings
- Dedicate Yourselves to Gratitude
- My Lord and My God
- In the beginning was the Word
- Come Holy Spirit
- Peace on Earth
- Pace e Bene
- All you need is love
- Love is all you need
- We are one body
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