The hidden writer
Subtitle: diaries and the creative life
By: Alexandra Johnson.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Doubleday
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 275
Subjects: American diaries -- Women authors -- History and criticism; English diaries -- Women authors -- History and criticism; Women and literature -- English-speaking countries; Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.); Women -- Biography -- Authorship
Description: Presenting seven portraits of literary and creative lives, Alexandra Johnson illuminates the secret world of writers and their diaries, and shows how over generations these writers have used the diary to solve a common set of creative and life questions.

In the childhood diary of Marjory Fleming we witness a young writer finding her voice, while Sonya Tolstoy's diary describes the conflict between love and vocation; in Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf's friendship the nettle of rivalry among writing equals is revealed; and in Alice James's diary, started at age forty, the feelings of competition within a creative family are explored.

In Anais Nin, we see the popular explosion of the diary as confessional; and finally in May Sarton the pursuit of solitude becomes a national obsession. A time-lapse study of confidence, The Hidden Writer shows how each writer used the diary to negotiate the obstacle course of silence, ambition, envy, and fame.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-272).
Discusses Marjory Fleming, Sonya Tolstoy, Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf, Alice James, Anaïs Nin, and May Sarton.