“Spread Peace Like Butter on Toast": DEI, Weddings, and More Joy in Six
With the new Six Word app, the only limit is your imagination.
Powered By the Six-Word Memoirs App: Diversity, Equity & Belonging at KU
The just-released, free, web-based Six-Word Memoirs app is a manifestation of everything I’ve loved in my fifteen years of running this six word show: a simple way for anyone to engage and connect around a shared celebration. That celebration can take the form of a wedding, a birthday, an anniversary, a funeral, a common cause or organizational value, and more. In mid-October, one of the celebrations powered by the app was diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at Kansas University (KU). I had the pleasure of leading a number of workshops at KU, including Dr. Cheryl Wright’s Curriculum and Teaching class in the KU School of Education and Human Sciences. Their prompt: “What does diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging mean to education?” After talking about the power of saying less to start longer discussions, students scanned a QR code that took them to their “DEI at KU” topic on the app and got to work answering that question in exactly six words (a few of which are seen above).
A few hours later, I found myself at the campus Hillel with a bunch of thoughtful and funny young Jews (here we are below) who kicked off the “Six Words on Jewish Life” topic. Check out their words and share your own Jewish life story if you have one. Not Jewish? No problem. Log on to the app and create a topic of your choosing: your faith, your passions, or whatever inspires you.
You Can Have Your Cake and Eat Your Words, Too
What happens when a bridesmaid creates and shares a “Six Word Wishes & Advice” topic with all the guests before the wedding? First, everyone got excited about the couple’s celebration months before the wedding. Then, working with Six-Word Memoirs the couple got the gift of a new kind of creative, collaborative guestbook, one filled with six word wishes and advice from the most important people in their life. And the guests? They got to write their words and eat them too in this six word edible wedding cake!
If you or someone you know has a wedding coming up and would like to test the app in exchange for a free and fancy six word powered guestbook, please get in touch.
Short Cuts: Six-Word Reviews
From Substack: Has your favorite medium become a bit one-note? Maybe you love to write but have a hankering to take up guitar. Patti Smith (at home, above) feels that way, too! Smith, best known as an icon of the New York City punk scene in the ‘70s, contains multitudes: poet, painter, and memoirist (fun fact: she’s sold more books than records). Smith now adds Substack writer to her biography with her eponymous newsletter, Patti Smith. Join Smith as she addresses her readers — often via video from her home in Greenwich Village — and offers an intimate peak into her creative life.
Six-Word Memoirs’ Dewansh Chauhan's Six-Word Review: "Dear diary, dear reader, dear life."
From the World: "You shouldn't trust the storyteller; only trust the story." Those are the words of the inimitable Neil Gaiman, whose The Sandman follows the haunting tribulations of Morpheus, Ruler of Dreams, as he navigates a changing and modern world after being imprisoned for more than a century. While The Sandman recently debuted as a Netflix show, it first began as a graphic novel series in the 1980s. Authors are often pushed aside when their work is transformed into a movie or television series. But Gaiman, both a writer and producer for the show, has always been an active contributor to the many adaptations of his works. The Sandman is no different. It’s a remarkable testament to how Gaiman preserves the unique voice and soul of his writing whatever form it takes.
Six-Word Memoirs' Danielle Shum’s Six-Word Review: "Dreams of stories. Endless journeys. Hope."
Illustrate It in Six!
Illustrated memoirs are a beautiful and imaginative way to view Six-Word Memoirs — and we’re always looking for more submissions. Don’t forget to tell the artists, students, and teachers in your life how to submit their art to the website. Check out our gallery of illustrations.
Kids “Six” the Most Amazing Things
Six-Word Memoirs often find students flocking to the website to rave about sports, memes, and their latest English project. Our Teens page is dedicated to showcasing memoirs from and about teens. Check out what's going on in the minds of teenage Sixers (and enjoy their creative screen names). Here are six recent Six-Word Memoirs we love.
Knowing everything now is knowing nothing. —Benson
My bed never ever judges me. — stupidmeTT
Worried about filling in bubbles right. —achillesburrito
Exhaustion at its finest; high school. —GingerRoot
Sunburn, frizzy hair, and grand champion. —miscoolig
Shut up, and dance with me. —KasellaCap
Students and teachers have the opportunity to publish their Six-Word Memoir projects in unique, one-of-a-kind classroom books with Six in Schools. Schools can get started with a free classroom kit and a guide on how to write the perfect memoir.