Daily Archives for: February 8th, 2015

A Backward Glance: Edith Wharton’s Reflections on Her Writing Life

By | On February 8, 2015 | Updated September 21, 2022 | Comments (0)

From all outward appearances, Edith Wharton, an heiress from one of late-19th century’s wealthiest families, seemed to be a woman in charge of her life. 

But just beneath the surface, she was deeply insecure, especially about her writing abilities. Her family disapproved of her taking up the pen, and her society friends  just didn’t care — or understand.

Wharton described how she overcame her obstacles with a great deal of humility. The following passages are from her memoir, A Backward Glance (1934). Read More→

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The Early Diaries of Anaïs Nin: A Writer Unsure of Herself

By | On February 8, 2015 | Updated September 21, 2022 | Comments (0)

An excerpt from The Early Diaries of Anaïs Nin, Volume II. From an entry dated November 1921, when the author was 18 years of age:

“I have been made to write. I have been to sit by my desk day after day, pouring into a million pages the contents of my mind and heart, the results of my observations, the thing I conceive, the things that are revealed to me, the things I must speak.

How else can I explain this flow of ideas to which my words are attached almost miraculously? It comes from within me, something stronger than my will, at the times I least expect it. I am led, I am carried way by a thing which is beyond my self, beyond control and discipline.” Read More→

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