'Escape yourself . . . (and) be willing to fail'

 

“I'm always terrified when I'm writing.” – Mary Karr

 

Born in Groves, Texas on Jan. 16, 1955 Karr brought her early years to life in the New York Times bestselling memoir, The Liars' Club, a book that delves into her deeply troubled childhood.  The book is the first of her three memoirs - the other two being Cherry and Lit: A Memoir - and the foundation for her nonfiction book The Art of Memoir.

 

Karr also has had success as a poet and essayist, winning the prestigious Whiting Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Pushcart Prize for her writing.  A sought-after regular on the speakers’ circuit, she now resides in New York and is a writing professor at Syracuse University.  The most recent of her five poetry collections is Tropic of Squalor.

 

“Young writers often mistakenly choose a certain vein or style based on who they want to be, unconsciously trying to blot out who they actually are. You want to escape yourself,” Karr said. 

 

 “The thing I have to do as a writer, and that God permits me to do, is that I have to be willing to fail.”