I once told a very serious writer/poet I knew about how…
““I once told a very serious writer/poet I knew about how obsessed I was with various women’s lives. I think I was talking about Vivien Leigh at the time, as I was working on a book dealing with former screen legends, that I have since abandoned. Or perhaps the mad wives. I don’t know. This poet was very serious, very pure. Derrida in the AM. Pronouncing his name correctly. That sort of thing. She fixed me with some look - this was maybe 7 years ago - and said - more than a bit dismissingly - oh, you’re very interested with lives. Or maybe she said: Oh, you’re very interested in these women’s lives. And I said, yes, I guess I am. I remember feeling guilty—like this wasn’t a writerly thing to be interested in, the subject of others’ lives. That this was gossip. That being unliterary, somehow. This devouringness. I have since realized that most of the works I’m interested in, are about absolute obsession with other people’s lives, often real-people’s lives, and these works become unserious biographies, avant-garde acts of gossip, while still working within the structure of the novel.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The speaker reflects on feeling guilty for being fascinated by other people's lives, seeing it as gossip rather than serious literature, yet acknowledges that this obsession fuels many of her works.
In simple terms: Obsessed with others’ lives feels unliterary but fuels creative work.
Key Takeaway
Accept that curiosity can be a creative engine.
Themes
guilt
obsession
literature
biography
gossip
Mood
reflective
introspective
Type
analytical
personal
When to use this quote
- writing a novel
- researching historical figures
- creating avant‑garde biographies
- exploring personal fascination
Key Concepts
meta‑narrative
authorship
ethical curiosity
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you transform personal obsession into legitimate art?
- What ethical lines exist in biographical storytelling?
A Different Perspective
The tension between artistic legitimacy and personal curiosity can limit expression.