You'd think that the predicament of homelessness would vary little from epoch to epoch – food and shelter being timeless basic human needs – but The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, published more than 100 years ago, reminds us that today's homeless have a whole extra set of problems, including the stigma of being one of society's displaced.I would guess that the biggest problem today with writing while homeless is the technology gap. However, with recession lit taking off and the economic troubles of yesteryear (and also this year), I think this could become an interesting and niche-popular memoir genre.
2.11.2010
Homeless lit is so in
Homeless lit is hard to find, but does exist. Ben Myers writes:
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Maybe the homeless shelters will let them use the office computer. Interesting trends here.
ReplyDeleteIn Denver we have a paper called the Denver Voice. Homeless men and women can purchase copies of the paper for 25 cents a piece and then sell them for $1 or more each. There are awesome stories about people working their way off the streets through this program.
ReplyDeleteBut the coolest part is that the paper is written by the vendors. There's a small staff that researches each week's feature article, but the rest of the paper contains submissions of poetry, short story, and essay from individuals on the streets. It's really powerful.
SarahAnn, in Seattle we have a paper similar to the Denver Voice, called Real Change. Without it there would be almost no reportage about the homeless.
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