"When we quarrel with others, we make rhetoric; when we quarrel with ourselves, we make poetry." W.B.Yeats

 Everything we write is autobiographical to some extent. When we allow others to read our writing, we are giving them a glimpse into our lives. Having said this, there are are some works that are more obviously personal than others.

“This is my letter to the world”, expresses Dickenson’s resentment towards a society which she feels has rejected her (even though she voluntarily segregated herself from it). Similarly, Cheever’s work is filled with protagonists who embody his own supposed flaws and weaknesses. An example of this is Neddy’s struggle with alcohol and existential meaningless in “The Swimmer.” Furthermore, Sylvia Plath’s work is a personal account of her struggle with her own sexuality, and deterioration of mental health. In her poem, “Daddy”, she describes the effect her father’s death had on her life.  

All of these works are a form of confessional or therapeutic writing, which is exactly what I infer from the phrase, “A letter to the world.”  If this is the case, then I can say that I have never written such a piece. Yes, I may have done so subconsciously, but I have never purposefully projected myself into my work. The thought seems terrifying, and I’m not quite ready to face my insecurities on paper. Maybe this is my “ground-breaking” revelation…

I’ll leave my letter writing until I’m at least fifty years old, and even then I’m sure it will come under the category of “hate mail”, rather than poetry.

I was ten when they buried you.

At twenty I tried to die

And get back, back, back to you.

I thought even the bones would do.

But they pulled me out of the sack,

And they stuck me together with glue.

Daddy  Sylvia Plath