A Critical Review of Didion, J. 1984, 'Why I write in essays and conversations', edited by Ellen G. Friedmanl, Ontario Review Press, pp 5-10.

UNIVERSIDAD DEL VALLE
ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS DEL LENGUAJE
LICENCIATURA EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS
COMPOSICIÓN ESCRITA EN INGLÉS VII
MARGARETH MARMOLEJO CAICEDO
NATALIA GONZÁLEZ ORTIZ

Joan Didion is an American literary author who has written several novels and essays. “Why I write” (1984) is one of her essays where she argues that writing is the act of presenting and imposing oneself by saying “I”. This is an autobiographical essay because it uses fragments of “reflective autobiography” in order to see the world through the author’s experiences. The text gives to the readers a clear vision about the practice of writing and trying to convince an audience.

First, she tells how when trying to read or focusing on a serious subject like the Hegelian dialectic theory she found herself on the peripheral: a tree outside the window. Or when reading linguistic theory, she found herself thinking if the lights in the bevatron were on. She could only focus her attention on what she could see, taste and touch. For this reason, at that time, she did not consider herself a writer. Thanks to those peripheral ramblings, she enjoyed writing. She argues that if she had had complete access to her mind, she would not have become a writer because for her, writing is the act of finding out what she is thinking, looking at, wanting, fearing, and finally getting to know the meaning of what she is thinking.

Didion said she experienced images like objects with a shimmer edge, just like schizophrenics and people on hallucinogens do. This shimmer edge represents grammar through the view that the organization of words in a sentence is a key point in what the writer wants to say. If  he or she wants the sentence to be active or passive, long or short; the words arrangement  tells the reader, and the author, what is happening in the picture.

Talking from her experience, the author explains that while writing, writers need to discover little by little the details and information of the story they are writing. They can achieve this process asking themselves questions like “who is the narrator?” “why was this narrator telling me this story?”. These questions are answered while writing because if they were answered before, tas Didion expresses, there would be no need of writing a story.

Even though the type of writing she uses can be considered as non formal because of the lack of authoritative voice or direct references and because it is written as a conversation, this autobiographical essay allows the author to expressed herself through the text and represents clearly the writing process of many current writers. The text is fluid and has clear images of what Didion is arguing. Besides, a good resource used by the author are the examples that allow the reader to be connected with her ideas because the same feelings she presents are the ones of many readers and possible writers. Finally, we agree with the author's thesis: writing is the process of arguing and defending your arguments in front of an audience, presenting what your thoughts, beliefs and experiences have made you.