Body Work - The Radical Power of Personal Narrative

In this bold and exhilarating mix of memoir and writing guide, Melissa Febos tackles the emotional, psychological, and physical work of writing intimately while offering an utterly fresh examination of the storyteller's life and the challenges it presents.How do we write about the relationships that have formed us? How do we describe our bodies, their desires and traumas? What does it mean to have your writing, or living, dismissed as "navel-gazing"-or else hailed as "so brave, so raw"? And to whom, in the end, do our most intimate stories belong?Drawing on her journey from aspiring writer to acclaimed author and writing professor-via addiction and recovery, sex work and academia-Melissa Febos has created a captivating guide to the writing life, and a brilliantly unusual exploration of subjectivity, privacy, and the power of divulgence. Candid and inspiring, Body Work will empower readers and writers alike, offering ideas-and occasional notes of caution-to anyone who has ever hoped to see their true self reflecting back from the open page.

List of contents

1 In Praise of Navel Gazing2 Mind Fuck: Writing Better Sex3 A Big Shitty Party: Six Parables for Writing About Other People4 The Return

Product details

• Authors: Melissa Febos, Febos Melissa
• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.03.2022
• EAN: 9781526165848
• ISBN: 978-1-5261-6584-8
• No. of pages: 192
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 200 mm x 10 mm
• Subjects: Education and learning; Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Essays, Memoirs, Writing & editing guides, Writing and editing guides, Creative writing & creative writing guides, Creative writing and creative writing guides