Carving out ancestry and family from life writing.

By Aanya Mitra

Author Biography:

Aanya is a final year English Literature student at the University of Edinburgh. She has a diverse range of literary interests, such as the exploration of (discomforting) female rage in Modern and Postmodern writing, as well as Classical literature, Life-writing, and Modern Fantasy. She is passionate about editing, currently holding positions in two student-run publications at the University of Edinburgh: Publications Manager at the Edinburgh Student Literary Journal (ESLJ), and Deputy Editor at The Broad Online.

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RFP Aanya Mitra- Autobiography Life Writing- Completed Edits.pdf

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This essay redefines autobiography, intertwining personal existence with familial and ancestral experiences. Focused on Virginia Woolf's Sketch of the Past, James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son, and Michael Ondaatje's Running in the Family, it explores how these authors utilise life-writing conventions. Woolf's memoir delves into her mother's influence, while Baldwin reflects on racial inheritance and Ondaatje navigates a colonial past. Each author grapples with identity, memory, and representation, employing the memoir as a tool for self-discovery and cultural exploration. Through diverse narrative approaches, they reveal the memoir's capacity for introspection, historical reckoning, and literary innovation within the broader context of life-writing.