A child’s longing in the glow of fire or lamplight for
“just one more story.”
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Our innate sense of
the eternal now and its intersection
with time . . .
These things shape the legacy
with which we are entrusted. It is our task to
give to the next generation the gift of story.
background photo and photo below :: Onelia Mary Savoie Matherne, holding her granddaughter, Joan Elizabeth Stear
:: New Iberia, Louisiana, September 1960 ::
:: New Iberia, Louisiana, September 1960 ::
Devoted to the stories of our lives,
Life & Letters resurrects a dream: to bridge generations through stories. It’s not my dream alone. It’s been part of our lives since time immemorial. Like the gift of a good name, the gift of a good story is a treasure that each of us owns, its richness multiplied when we tell it to others. Our story is ours to share. As you peruse these archived memoir-gifts of Life & Letters (personal histories from an earlier generation, as well as the meanderings of this once-young-now-old woman), you may find your own story. When you do, share it. Our world is in need of good stories. 
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Welcome to
where life is story and story is life
Volume I
Fall 1990
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Volume II, Spring 1991
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Volume III
Summer 1991
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Life & Letters began in 1990. Its first iteration, a memoir writing course for elders. In this decade, the second of the twenty-first century, Life & Letters (dot com) begins its journey into digital territory. Reclaiming words and reviving images composed and created decades ago, Life & Letters binds this website to my long-ago efforts as a young woman to give voice to the stories of our elders. Here on this site, my digital homestead, I am archiving stories and memories. I am also reviving dreams. Many of them found their beginning in a “yes” I spoke years ago. I think it was the kind of “yes” that resides in each of us from birth, the kind of “yes” that waits—sometimes for a lifetime -- for an “at that time” moment to echo for eternity. June of 1990 brought one of those experiences into my life. The years I taught my memoir writing course (1990-2001) were a once-upon-a-time era for me. Over three decades ago I met a group of eager life writers whose dreams reflected mine: to bridge generations through stories. The class would became a metaphor for one of my dreams. It's an honor to share its story with you.
: : Joan E. Stear : : December 2022 |
