Page 145 - Student: dazed And Confused

Account: autobiography

Autobiography should be about making your life interesting enough that other people want

to read about it. I knew I was going to have trouble with this one as soon as I found out

what it was as I think no-one ever thinks of their own life as particularly intriguing when
they are in the middle of it. I wanted to think of something from my life to write about

which was unique and different. But whatever I decided to write, it would be my own

thoughts and experiences so it would be unique to me anyway.

After reading things like the Extravagant Strangers collection, every thought and

possibility in my head went on holiday because I knew I had no way of writing something so
socially or politically aware. I also wanted to read something a bit less involved - something

I didn't have to think quite so hard about. And so I was given A Portrait of the Artist as a

Young Man to read. I really liked the beginning of the book where it incorporated snippets
of verse into the main body of text so I decided I wanted to try something a bit like it in my

own piece. I also wanted to write the whole assignment as a more displaced figure. Not

displaced as in crazy bbut given myself a new name and write in the third person. I've use

the technique many times before, mostly in my own work, and I feel a lot more comfortable

talking about myself in that way.
I toyed with the idea of doing a selection of autobiographical poems but, when

written, they sounded a little bit silly and 5 poems all together about me seemed to be too

much - so I scrapped that idea. Sometimes, autobiographical poetry is very good and it can
give the reader a flash insight to the writer. I do not have the necessary skills for that or the

techniques some people use like time shifts and dream sequences.

My first attempt at writing my piece got no further than an outline. I had the idea

that I could write the text and then put in little pieces of verse at a later date. Then I

decided that instead of writing new pieces of rhyme or scouring the internet I would look
back through the poetry I wrote as a teenager and use bits and pieces from those. It also

really helped focus me on what I wanted to say as it brought back all the memories of how I

felt and what I went through. Books always tell you how it felt for the lead but there is an