We paused Rosana Cruz’s conversation between Diaz, Laymon, and Talusan at a key point, when they said this:

“I want to talk a little about this genre [memoir]. I knew we were going to get into our feelings because it’s an emotional genre to tell your stories. So I just want to ask each of you, as people who are amazing storytellers and creative folks, why put yourselves out there like that? And specifically, what do you think memoir gives to being able to tell these racialized stories, these race stories, that other genres don’t?”

Consider this question. After having read the initial pages and some examples of these writers’ work, what do you think memoir offers for telling stories about race and identity? You don’t need to come to a complete resolution to this question — just an argument. You should, however, draw on readings, activities, and conversations to develop your idea.