The authors of this
surprisingly rich and detailed text are both well known in the field of
narrative studies. Sidonie Smith is the
Martha Guernsey Colby Collegiate Professor of English and Women’s Studies at
the University of Michigan and is the co-editor (with Julia Watson) of Interfaces: Women, Autobiography, Image, Performance, a work that
explores the variety of forms in which women artists in the 20^th
century have represented themselves. Julia
Watson is Associate Professor of Comparative Studies at The Ohio State
University. Professor
Watson is publishing two essays on Charlotte Salomon and finishing a book on
autoethnographic writing and reading practices.

This
compact “guide” to the study of autobiography is, in fact, more properly a
sourcebook whose pages contain a wealth of information concerning the history
and theory of autobiography criticism. 
It is a book that could serve both as the core text in an advanced
undergraduate class on the praxis of autobiography as well as an invaluable reference
for graduate students whose focus is on life writing in any and all of its
myriad forms. The seven chapters and
four appendices range in topics from “Life Narratives: Definitions and Distinctions”
in chapter 1 to concise but very useful accounts, in the appendices, of
internet resources and current journals relevant to the topic.

Smith
and Watson note the simple but crucial fact that “techniques and practices of
remembering change” (17). Thus the
emergence of “autobiographical subjects” that we observe in Augustine’s Confessions and the late 20^th
century identification of the material, embodied character of life narratives
bear a relationship to each other. The
authors understand that this bond marks multiple historical trajectories whose
complex paths are foundational to the analysis of autobiographical texts.  This leads to the powerful observation that
the idea of a unified or “coherent” self is nothing more than a “myth of
identity.” Likewise, there is “no
immutable self that can remember everything…[w]e are always fragmented in time”
(47).

The
authors provide a rich theoretical account of autobiographical narratives early
in the work that allows them to move with ease between the applied contexts
offered by historical, psychological, and philosophical perspectives. For instance, the two chapters on the
“history of autobiography criticism” generate a wealth of information
concerning the “two waves” of analysis: autobiography as transcription of the
past and autobiography as a creative act. 
In the latter, “self-referential narratives” are no longer viewed as
“sites of truth” but, rather, as “creative self-engagements” that “elevated”
production of life writing to the status of “literary genre.” Given the metaphysical doubts that often
permeate the study of autobiographical writing, not to mention the
epistemologically self-effacing nature of autobiographical research that has
too often marred this important subject, it is important in a resource such as
this to assert clearly and in the strongest terms that not only does
autobiography criticism have a place in the cannon, but this place has long
been secured by a wide variety of important theorists and authors. Smith and Watson, as has their predecessor,
James Olney, leave no room for debate on this point, and this may be the
greatest strength of their collaboration.

The
self-reflexive character of this text is evident not only in the chapters
mentioned above on the “history of autobiography criticism, but is an important
aspect of the text throughout. This is important for at least two reasons:
First, and perhaps, most obvious, is the fact that autobiography and,
consequently, autobiography criticism, are necessarily self-reflexive
activities. Any sourcebook that claims
to offer a comprehensive account of a subject should, it seems, build on the
logic of its subject in such a manner that its logic, in this case, its
self-reflexivity, is woven within the architectonic of the analysis. Smith and Watson accomplish this feat
through a consistent acknowledgement of the relationship between the act of
autobiographical writing and the history of autobiography criticism that is, in
a sense, its mirror image. More
importantly, however, the recognition by the authors of the embodied character
of autobiographical writing. Reflecting
some of the important work done by Shirley Neuman in her article
“Autobiography, Bodies, and Manhood,” Smith and Watson construct an elegant
narrative in which the presence and absence of bodies from life writings have
served both the cultural status quo at various points in history, as well as done
much to subvert it.

While
this book will not be all things to all people, nor does it claim to be, it
will provide the curious undergraduate whose first exposure to the theoretical,
historical, and practical aspects of life writing has produced the desire/need
for a compact “beginner’s” guide to augment further studies. Likewise, for the graduate student who longs
for a reliable reference that will provide a port in the theoretical/analytical
storm that accompanies the writing of conference papers, theses, or
dissertations, Smith and Watson offer a large number of tools that will assist
these scholars in their endeavors. And
while I am indebted to the authors for their brief references to Plato, I would
have preferred to see more work done on the philosophical foundations of life
writing and criticism. There is a great
deal of work still to be done in this area, despite James Olney’s important
contributions. My preferences, though,
should not be construed as a deficit. 
This work gives us everything that we need to find our way into the
study of life narratives. Although we
will certain need other resources as our inquiry deepens, it is doubtful that
we will ever outgrow this text.

© 2003 Will Cowling

Will Cowling teaches philosophy at
Oregon State University. His research
interests focus on the embodied character of knowledge and the logic of
scientific inquiry.

Categories: Philosophical