Valentine's Day 2011: Love And Heartbreak Six-Word Memoirs (PHOTOS)

"It's Like My Heart Has Sciatica": Love And Heartbreak In 6-Word Memoirs (PHOTOS)
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The oft-quoted Tolstoy line "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" seems to hold true in matters of the heart as well. No surprise then that some of the most moving Six-Word Memoirs among the more than 400,000 that have been shared on SMITH Magazine are about love and its close companion, heartbreak. Entire volumes lie beneath "Teen homewrecker. Still miss his kid," "War destroyed his heart and mine," "Ex-wife and contractor now have house." You'll just have to create your own backstory for these bits of six-word storytelling, as well as the ones featured here in this slideshow--that's part of the fun of the six-word form.

Sometimes, it's nice to know the bigger picture, though. At a show we're having on February 14 at NYC's 92YTribeca you can hear the "stories behind the six-word stories" from Deborah Copaken Kogan (Shutterbabe), Elizabeth Wurtzel (Prozac Nation), Baratunde Thurston (The Onion, Jack & Jill Politics), Darin Strauss (Half a Life), former HuffPo columnist Rachel Sklar (now at Mediaite.com), Michele Carlo (Fish Out Of Agua), Sara Barron (People are Unappealing), and Kimberly Kaye ("The Trouble With Poet" blog). Musician Michael Hearst will also be in the house, turning Six-Word Memoirs into very short songs--always a crowd favorite.

The show ends with an open audience story slam. So come on out with a date or solo, bring six, and leave with your heart a little fuller.

You can also share your own short, short love/heartbreak story in the comments area below or over at SMITH Magazine's Six Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak project, where we also offer six-word themes on motherhood, the digital life, happiness, and many more.

Erica Jong

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