Better late than never????
JournalsI've been keeping journals for years now. I don't ever end up writing consistently in terms of a day by day (or month by month) entry, but I do at least have entries from every year since I was 8. Since I've been in a nonstop move this summer I've had the joy (embarrassment?) of discovering these great works in the mandatory sorting that accompanies a move. If I'm honest, I love the two years of college poetry. I freely admit it's bad (from maybe a more objective perspective), but I LOVE it. I love that person who wrote it. I think it is hysterical (even when it's not intentional). In a close second are the few travel journals I've kept. What a delight to look back on my perceptions and concerns as they've transpired in relation to nature and other cultures (depending on the places traveled). I might be especially prone to these as I'm currently reading Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad (a GREAT book--there was an old VHS movie of this book--does anyone know where I could get a DVD copy?!?!?!?). Then, of course, there are the painful soul-searching entries (the ones that aren't hysterically melodramatic and grandiose in scope). Those are hard to read even where healing has taken place. Those are the ones that make me wonder...
Would it ever be wise to publish one's journals?
My immediate instinct is a big, fat NO. Then again, when we're seeking the authentic voice, where better to go? And I also wonder, would I ever want to read someone else's journal? There's something very invasive about the idea, especially some random person. Would I ever want to read someone else's journal? I love reading my best friend's travelogues, but that's a little different since we went on a lot of the trips together so there's a camaraderie inherent within the writing. Let's say I found someone's journal laying around, I would not EVER, EVER, EVER start reading it without permission. There wouldn't even be a temptation. Even if I was deeply curious. If they then gave me permission, I probably still wouldn't read it because it would just seem wrong to me. I'd feel gross. The weird part is that the converse does not hold true. I really don't think I'd freak out if someone read my journals. Now, I wouldn't offer and I wouldn't expect someone to do so without permission, but I still think I'd get over it should it happen (this is not a covert invitation).
What do other people think? Is a journal inherently personal?
posted by Marjorie at
9/06/2008 10:30:00 PM
2 Comments:
Hey, Marjorie! Love the pic, btw, and this topic is right up my alley.
I when I first starting journaling, way back in the day, I called it a "diary." Yes, I even wrote "Dear Diary" when beginning. I was around the same age you were when you first started, but unfortunately, the earliest ones got lost in transition somewhere. I do have the ones I've kept consistently since I was 12.
I think journals are inherently personal (as opposed to blogs). However, I will admit that sometimes I write with the sense that sometime in the future, someone else will read them. Not that I write with a lofty sense that they will be published one day (they would totally not sell), but that like, one of my grandkids or something, after I'm long gone would come across them in the attic somewhere and read them to get a sense of what I was like.
And yes, occasionally I take the time to rediscover the hilarious and mortifying and painful and melodramatic writings of my days gone by too. It's kind of cool to look back and see how you've grown, where you've come from, and how far you've come.
you said, "...but I still think I'd get over it should it happen (this is not a covert invitation)."
Ummm, so how long would you be mad and which drawer is it in? :-)
herbalt
Post a Comment
<< Home