Confessional writing
[8] Though originating in American literary circles, by writers and poets such as Adrienne Rich, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Sexton, the style has gained global use concurrently with the growth of Postcolonial theory at the end of the 20th century,[9] especially throughout Eurasia and the Middle East.
[18][19] The anthology is widely regarded as a seminal confessional text, in the poet's revelations on his relationship to his parents, marital conflict, depression, and generational trauma.
[23][24] Contemporary confessional works encompass broader social issues, including drug-use, digital identity, popular culture, and political engagement.
Confessional writing usually involves the divulging and discussion of 'shameful matters',[25] including personal secrets and controversial perspectives in forms such as autobiography, diary, memoir, and also epistolary narratives.
'[30] More recent works of confessional writing include Codeine Diary, by Tom Andrews, a personal account of living with the disease haemophilia;[1] Girlhood, by Melissa Febos, an account of the development of the female body from adolescence into adulthood, and of the narrativity of the socially-constructed experience of femininity;[31] Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino¸ a confessional blend of personal essay and social criticism concerning the rise of the internet during the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the fallacious digital identities which social media is productive of; Before I Say Goodbye by Ruth Picardie, a memoir of her terminal illness with breast cancer;[1] Bridget Jone's Diary by Helen Fielding, a novel of the love life and entering of middle-age by the titular protagonist through the diary perspective;[1] and White City Blue by Tim Lott, a fictive account of the limits and stigmas of male friendship and in adulthood.
[32] Though originating in American literary circles, the confessional writing style has gained global use with the growth of Postcolonial theory and globalisation at the end of the 20th century,[9] especially throughout Eurasia and the Middle East, with focuses on personal intersectionality.
[26][24][33] The Cry of Winnie Mandela, a novel by Njabulo Ndebele, incorporates stylistic features of the confessional writing genre, including first-person narration and the divulging of personal histories, to critique the Apartheid regime, and to represent the experiences of 'repression suffered by civilians and concealed by colonial occupying forces.
[34] Souvankham Thammavongsa's poetic anthology Small Arguments uses features of confessional writing in a 'subtle probing of the world' to depict the refugee experience in Canada and concerns of self-determination.
[36][37] French artist Louise Bourgeois also explored elements of confessional writing throughout her body of work, especially through representing her relationships with family members.
Academics have also expounded on the self-performativity and confession-based format of reality television shows such as Big Brother as having roots in the confessional writing genre.
[11][7] Owing to the exclusively heterosexual and upper-class[19] White Anglo-Saxon Protestantism which characterises many of the early confessional writers, such as Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath, the mode has been critiqued as solipsistic, 'classist, self assured, and elusive,'[43] as well as lacking diverse social and cultural perspectives.
[45] Feminist discourse is separated on the mode: whilst some theorists regard the depiction of issues such as sexual violence, eating disorders, and mental illness by female confessional writers as liberating, others view it as voyeuristic and objectifying.
