Let's talk autobiography...

Art is subjective. Art is a remix. Art is something that we would always pay for.

I will be honest with you. Those three sentences above had a sole purpose of luring a reader in, and since you are reading these lines (hopefully), let us dive into a short “monologue” about writing. I would like to point out that I would mostly focus on the idea presented by Donald M. Murray in his article "All Writing Is Autobiography".            

The statement that all writing is an autobiography in some way, shape or form, might seem a bit vague but it is very commonsensical. When one writes a paper, he or she, is putting a small piece of their individuality into that work, which makes that writing a bit different or even "unique". The question is, does the “unique” status of writing turns it into an autobiography? Unfortunately, it does not seem like there is a clear answer to this question. From my personal perspective and very limited knowledge, I am not able to derive a strong and well-phrased solution. However, I will do my best to describe my position and the overall thinking process.       

After watching a few videos in class, reading several articles about writing and education in general, and contemplating the meaning of human existence (while reading a book about it), I have noticed that there are indeed some aspects which make everyone’s writing a bit personal. It can include everything from a style or genre to the number of typos in the text. In my understanding, those aspects indeed, make one’s writing a bit special and autobiographic. As D. M. Murry pointed out in his article, 

“We are autobiographical in the way we write; my autobiography exists in the examples of writing I use in this piece and in the text, I weave around them. I have my own peculiar way of looking at the world and my own way of using language to communicate what I see." (Murry)

His position is very clear. Everyone has his or her own way of perceiving this world and that makes one’s writing a short piece of autobiography. In fact, it could be applied in every aspect of our lives, and it would still be quite relevant.

  

My understanding of this topic is not obsolete, thus the possibility of me being completely wrong, and accepting a flowed perception is sufficiently higher than I wanted it to be. After all, this is only a sneak-peak into a much broader discussion which can carry on for decades and people might not even conclude because there will always be two sides to this debate. It all depends upon one’s worldview/perception.

P.S.

The goal that I tried to peruse in this post was to show that there is always something personal in our writing, therefore reinforcing the idea that all writing is an autobiography. However, I did my best bring back some copy, transform and combine ideas and embedded them into my writing. If someone would find at least 3 of them I would buy that person a cup of coffee. (First come first serve :D) _{(limited to one person)}

A.G.)