These ten books defy easy classification, as they are not simply « memoirs » but rather works of art and scholarship, philosophical treatises and critiques. They explore representations of the body, various types of bodies, and gaps in knowledge; they serve as bridges connecting the unspoken to the archival. Engaging in self-reflective dialogues, they use language as a tool for innovation rather than mere repetition of the familiar.
Even in its mildest forms, discrimination based on gender or sexuality is a form of erasure, of refusing to acknowledge a person’s true existence. These ten authors, acutely aware of this absence, bravely write into this void to offer us stories of transgender experiences, motherhood, domestic violence, AIDS, grief, artistic creation, funerals, fish, and above all: love.
Melissa Febos, in her 2021 book « Girlhood, » presents a collection of eight essays that blend memoir, investigative journalism, history, and cultural criticism. Febos recounts in the author’s note how writing this book allowed her to rewrite the narrative of her own girlhood and reclaim her identity. She seamlessly weaves personal and universal themes, past and present, creating a work that is both revealing and corrective, a memoir and a manifesto.
Alexander Chee’s 2018 book « How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays » is a poignant exploration of the author’s life, touching on themes of sexuality, loss, and creativity. Chee’s writing is described as mesmerizing, with profound truths embedded in his sentences without becoming didactic. The book has been praised for its vulnerability and exquisite prose, leaving readers breathless.
Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic novel memoir, « Fun Home, » is a dual narrative of her coming-of-age as a lesbian and her complex relationship with her closeted homosexual father. Bechdel’s storytelling is hailed as both compact and verbose, creating a pioneering example of autobiography. The book has been lauded as one of the best memoirs of the decade for its intimate yet controlled approach to storytelling.
Renee Gladman’s forthcoming book « My Lesbian Novel, » set to be released in 2024, promises to be a genre-defying celebration of lesbian desire. Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, the novel offers a unique blend of narrative and aesthetic exploration. Through a series of interviews between an unnamed interviewer and the protagonist, Renee Gladman, the book delves into themes of reflection, desire, and the pleasures of form and freedom in storytelling. “When we read a novel, there is no indication of the time it was written,” but this unique book captures its own creation process.
“So strange that we can see our bodies but never our faces.”
Robert Glück’s “About Ed” is a literary masterpiece that combines the emotional honesty of memoir with the stylistic freedom of fiction. In 1970, Bob Glück met Ed in San Francisco, and their relationship evolved over eight years until Ed’s death from HIV in 1994. The book blends elements of fiction and memoir, incorporating Ed’s journals and dream notebooks to create a collaborative narrative. Glück’s work intertwines biography, memoir, psychotherapy, philosophy, and confession.
Similarly, Maggie Nelson’s “The Argonauts” is a hybrid of memoir, philosophical theory, and critical inquiry. The book delves into gender, sexuality, queerness, pregnancy, and motherhood, exploring the transformations she and her partner undergo simultaneously. Nelson’s unique writing style offers a powerful and poetic examination of these themes.
Lars Horn’s “Voice of the Fish” is a book-length essay that combines memoir with mythology, theology, and marine history to explore gender, sexuality, transmasculinity, and illness. The book reflects on the body’s adaptability and expands beyond traditional boundaries, offering a unique perspective on these topics.
Carmen Maria Machado’s “In the Dream House” addresses the lack of narratives around queer domestic abuse. Machado’s innovative memoir takes on various forms and narrative modes to explore the complexities of this experience. The book offers a fresh and inventive approach to storytelling.
David Wojnarowicz’s “Close to the Knives” is a memoir composed of essays that reflect on loss, danger, beauty, and resistance in the face of the AIDS epidemic. Wojnarowicz’s work captures the spirit of the East Village art scene of the 1980s and serves as a poignant reminder of the impact of the disease on the artistic community.
Plongée dans les mémoires intenses de Wojnarowicz et Moraga
De l’enfance violente en banlieue à la vie sans-abri à New York, Wojnarowicz nous livre un récit brut et percutant. Ses mots résonnent des échos de l’AIDS, de la perte, des drogues, de la politique, de la famille et de l’art.
Le New York Times décrit son œuvre comme une autobiographie pleine de vie, écrite dans un flot de phrases interminables et dans une tonalité presque hallucinatoire. Close to the Knives est un hybride intensément vivant, une œuvre d’une honnêteté radicale qui utilise les expériences les plus intimes, en particulier sexuelles, pour dévoiler la manière dévastatrice dont les systèmes politiques excluent et réduisent au silence les indésirables.
“Je sentais mon corps vibrer aux sons des vaisseaux sanguins et des muscles se contractant, aux sons du vieillissement et de la désintégration, au son de quelque chose rendu ridicule par le langage, au sentiment d’amour et à la peur.”
Une œuvre magistrale de Cherrié Moraga
Dans Native Country of the Heart, Cherrié Moraga nous offre un chef-d’œuvre d’art littéraire. Ce récit hybride, à mi-chemin entre mémoire et biographie de sa mère Elvira, se présente comme une relation, une carte des moments critiques dans la vie partagée de sa mère et d’elle-même, une chronique du désir. Ce récit de passage à l’âge adulte mexicano-américain explore la nature de la mémoire et de l’archive, offrant un portrait brillant des complexes d’une famille marquée par la race et la classe sociale.
“Je n’ai connu qu’une seule romance – l’amour d’une Elvira intraitable, qui a façonné mon lesbianisme, marqué mon chemin en tant que Mexicaine et m’a obligée à me souvenir avant et au-delà de ma mère.”
Deux récits inoubliables à découvrir
Ces deux œuvres, tantôt incandescentes, tantôt poignantes, offrent un regard intime et captivant sur des vies marquées par les luttes et les triomphes. Plongez dans ces mémoires riches en émotions, véritables odes à la vie et à la résilience.
