Books Quote by Meghan Daum
“For me, one of the reasons I love this form - the personal essay form - is because it's a way of forming an intimacy with the reader. What I'm saying to the reader is: I'm going to tell you something; I'm going to be generous; I'm going to offer. The confession, on the other hand, is sort of an imposition because you're asking the reader to forgive you or somehow exonerate you or say, "Hey, I'm even worse." But what I'm interested in doing is being generous and offering a perspective or suggesting a way of thinking about something.”
About This Quote
Source Essay collection: The Art of the Personal Essay, 2021
She values the personal essay for creating intimacy, offering generosity, and avoiding confession's burden.
In simple terms: Personal essays build connection and share perspective.
Key Takeaway
Write with generosity, not confession.
Themes
writing
intimacy
generosity
Mood
thoughtful
inquisitive
Type
literary
educational
When to use this quote
- blog posts
- literary magazines
- creative workshops
Key Concepts
narrative voice
reader relationship
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you balance honesty with generosity?
- What makes a personal essay feel intimate?
A Different Perspective
Readers may resist perceived self‑indulgence.
![“I feel that I'm an essayist and that my best work gets done in that form. I wanted to do a book where the essays could exist on their own terms. A book that was neither a book of essays that were shoehorned into a memoir, nor [one where] the essays had been published elsewhere first, [because]…” quote by Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/107/meghan-daum-18332_bears_i-feel-that-i-m-an-essayist-and-that-my_1054935.jpg)
