This Is Not My Memoir

This Is Not My Memoir by André Gregory and Todd London (2020) I was excited to read this book because My Dinner with Andre (1981) was one of the most important and influential movies for my younger self. A lot of people don’t get that movie, not realizing it’s a dramatic work, and it’s an unusual one. There are some illuminating accounts of making it in this book. That movie is not as dated as you’d think for something 40 years old; some of their fairly dire predictions were not dire enough. Still, it’s always been both inspiring and comforting to me, as have the existence and work of both André Gregory and Wallace Shawn. This book has a lot of stories about Gregory’s rather bizarre childhood—some of them a bit harrowing. The accounts of his work in the theatre over the years are like an extension of his stories in My Dinner with Andre—much of it too strange and extreme for someone to make up. If you feel like art—art in general, though primarily mainstream art—has gotten increasingly conservative and bland—or if you feel like what you do artistically is too weird—this may be an inspirational book for you. Also inspiring is the affirmation of the importance of art in general. One example is an account of a conversation with Howard Zinn. André asked him how to deal with all the terrible shit going on in the country, and his answer was: “Of course, you also have to do the usual things. Protest. Demonstrate. Call your representative. E-mail Washington. But most of all, make your art. Art brings light into the darkness.” Also, I should add, André Gregory has a good sense of humor, and a lot of stuff in this book is just plain funny.