I first learnt of American artist Joe Brainard’s I Remember in Wendy Cope’s essay collection Life, Love and the Archers, in which she recommends using Brainard’s ‘I remember’ idea as a way to get the writing juices flowing. I later also encountered the same book in Brian Dillon’s In the Dark Room. So, when I saw this cult classic had recently been re-released, I snapped up a copy.
Brainard’s brilliantly simple idea was to write a memoir of random recollections in which each short, usually single-sentence paragraph begins with the same two words: I remember.
It’s a brief but entertaining read, mixing memories of humorous and historic events, friends and acquaintances, sexual encounters, old jokes, commercial products, and other random paraphernalia. I have no idea why, but my favourite of these reminiscences was:
I remember when fiberglass was going to solve everything.
A fun book.
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