LA Story: Is Confession Still in Vogue?

Is “confession” a dirty word in literature? Believed by some to be non-intellectual—non-literary, in fact—yet still vibrant on the West Coast, confessional writing in Los Angeles seems to underscore for the rest of the world LA Vanity—the superficial, melodramatic poet who stands up and shouts, “It’s all about me!” This has prompted us to ask, does confessional writing contribute to literature? Is confessional writing still a viable genre?

Our group, Long Beach Writers, would like to present our work in response to these questions, to demonstrate that this genre does indeed have value and is worthy of “staying alive.” Hubris is not part of our creative process, but craft is. Rather than from a narcissistic point of view, we write to connect, one-on-one, the writer/speaker to the reader/listener.

Our five members, from the Southwest United States, are published in fiction and poetry. Individually, we have presented at conferences around the country. Three of us currently work as freelance writers/editors, and four of us teach writing at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

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This page last updated on 3/1/02.