The Art of Biography

Content

In her book Biography: A Very Short Introduction, Hermione Lee states: "Biography's job is to get behind the public performance and show us the real person at home." ¹ Lee goes on to say that biography is the narrative of someone's life and that there are ten rules on biography writing. However, in the tenth and final rule, she states there are no rules for biography. "There is a lingering idea of biography as the complete true story of a human being, the last word on life. But if it is, rather a mixed, unstable, genre, whose rules keep coming undone, then perhaps the only rule that holds good is that there is no such thing as a definitive biography." ² Well if there are no rules on how to create or write a biography, then what exactly is biography?

Nigel Hamilton wrote How to Do Biography, which provides helpful tips to those who want to pursue life-writing. Hamilton suggests that before you delve into the task of writing a biography, or even your own story in an autobiography or memoir, you must first understand the history behind this interesting, but at times controversial genre.

History of Biographies

Dr. Samuel Johnson, identified as the "father" of the modern biography, in 1750 defined the genre as "…was the recording and evaluating of people's moral character…how in facing the vicissitudes of life, an individual did or didn't cope was or was not tempted into sin, felt or did not feel remorse." ³ However, Dr. Johnson's outlook on biography took time to accomplish. In 1888 The Oxford English Dictionary defined biography was simply the history of men's lives describing the events in chronological order from birth until death. Particularly, the biography would only include the accomplishments and achievements of the person in chronological order as stated in the Dictionary of National Biography. It would act as monument to that person and all that they had achieved in their lifetime. However, censorship made looking into the private life of the person impossible since the only features of the person that were highlighted was what was seen or what was chosen to be seen in the public realm. In 1928, Virginia Woolf changed the perspective of the genre of biography in writing Orlando and ultimately changed the approach and process of creating a biography.

In reading Orlando, I thought it was an ordinary narrative about a man named Orlando living in the time of Queen Elizabeth I. After the first couple chapters, the events of the book became odd. Orlando suddenly had a sex change and Woolf finished the narrative with her main character as a woman. Also, how was it possible for the main character to live for four-hundred years? Apparently, Orlando is not a man but is truly a woman. In reality, the book is a biography of Virginia Woolf's lover, Vita Sackville-West. Woolf cleverly poked-fun at the genre of biography, showing that it had become stuffy and too serious; it did not examine the drama or faults of a person that truly allow the audience to empathize with the subject. Woolf also proved that the author has a choice on what to include in order to be creative when writing the life story of someone. Then to define biography, then Hermione Lee states in Biography: A Very Short Introduction: "There is a lingering idea of biography as the complete true story of a human being, the last word on life. But if it is, rather a mixed, unstable, genre, whose rules keep coming undone, then perhaps the only rule that holds good is that there is no such thing as a definitive biography." ⁴

Principles of Biography

If there is no set definition of a biography, where do you begin writing about someone's life? Ultimately, there are no rules for writing a biography; however, there are certain conventions and principles to follow when writing someone's life story. In the seminar "The Art of Biography" John Lewis Gaddis identified the five principles of biography:

1. Identify is inseparable from history

Gaddis recommended starting small and looking at their picture or portrait. What do you see included in the picture? What may have been left out? Why was this feature left out? This question process begins to help you narrow your thought process in identifying who the subject may be and what ultimately defines their character.

2. Selecting for significance

As the author, you have to determine what is best to include and what would be okay to leave out. For instance, when writing his biography on George Kennan, Kennan kept diaries and journals of his daily life. When Kennan was older, the same mundane entries would appear in the diaries so rather than bore the reader, Gaddis decided to leave this information out. Within a character or person there are all sorts of different dimensions of their personality. You as the biographer have to be selective and decide which dimensions you want to focus on.

3. Expression requires compression

Compression is where you squeeze certain aspects together to create more space for other, more defining events. This can be said of the approach Gaddis performed when writing his biography about George Kennan. Gaddis choose to be selective and compressed the older years of his life together since the majority of the information Kennan shared in his journals was the same, daily routine. It did not hold enough significance to hinder an entire chapter of the book.

4. Biography as objectivity

When writing a life story, the biographer determines what is important to know about the subject hence what gets written into the biography. They have to keep in mind their audience and what they are interesting in reading which will help decide what direction the author should write in.

5. Should be fair

Again this is where selectiveness comes into play and knowing what your intentions are in writing about someone else's life. Not only does it show the warts and the entire subject, but their family members will be reading. Gaddis arranged it with George Kennan that the book would be published after he died so as not bear the repercussions of his personal misjudgments and affairs. Gaddis also had to keep in mind the living family member's perspective on the publication of their father's life. So the narrative had to tell the truth but be tasteful and sensitive to the audience.

Most importantly, Hermione Lee states, when writing a biography: "Whatever the story is about, whatever race, nationality, sex, class, language or history is involved, there will have to be time, place, character, and events." ⁵ So in other words, the elements of a narrative have to be present since you are telling the story of a life. The beginning and end points, events discussed and timeframe covered can be more flexible and at the author's discretion. This is beneficial in teaching students how to write a narrative since they are using a real-life example by writing about the lives of each other.

Autobiography and Memoir Defined

Autobiography, as Nigel Hamilton writes, is probably the most challenging of all biographical undertakings. But why? How difficult can this be? I mean, you are just writing about yourself. I am the best source for writing about my life since I am indeed the one who is living it. But when I read further into Hamilton's book, I quickly reconsidered.

Hamilton defines autobiography as "the relentless record and attempt examination of one's own life: a quest for mental freedom through truthfulness." ⁶ Autobiography is where you attempt to write your whole life story. Benjamin Franklin attempted to write his autobiography but had difficulties, especially when remembering all the events from his childhood and teenage years. ⁷ Autobiography is similar to biography in that it may be tedious to write down every detail within your life unless you are dedicated in keeping journals on a daily basis. Memoir is very similar to autobiography, but it is more specific in the selection of evidence. A memoir is "the record of a discrete part of it (life), told as a challenge both to oneself in terms of truth-telling, and to the world, in terms of a larger, quasi-political agenda." ⁸ Ultimately, it is the narration of our life defined by our own terms. Rather than focusing on your life as a whole, you focus on parts or certain time frames to justify what you have accomplished or learned. Here's the kicker: in order for you to write a true autobiography or memoir, you must be willing to make your personal information public. And, James Boswell and Dr. Samuel Johnson point out, you cannot only share your achievements and how you managed to accomplish those feats. You must be "willing to show the warts and all." ⁹

For if you fabricate or omit the truth in working within this genre, you lose the trust of your audience and your credibility as a writer. This was the case for James Frey in his attempt to publish A Million Little Pieces, a so-called memoir of his 'life' in his struggle against drug addiction. It was the up and coming best-seller and on all of the "must-read" lists in 2003. Frey's book was even was listed as a book on Oprah's Book Club. However, the website TheSmokingGun.com exposed the fact that his memoir is mainly fabricated and the news went viral. The revelation of his lies became more sensational then the reasons why Frey decided to make this narrative a memoir (even though originally he told his publisher that it was a work of fiction; the publisher said it would never sell if deem as such so it was changed into a memoir). Thus, the book was returned and Frey lost millions. What is worse is that he forever damaged his reputation as a writer since he misguided and betrayed his audience about his intentions.

So, needless to say, the idea of composing a memoir or autobiography can be daunting and intimidating. "The work, the passion, as well as the self-exposure, must be done by you along—and for this you will need great courage and storytelling skills." However, reading and writing is a crucial means of self discovery, even self-creation. The process allows for the author to bring new life, a new self into the being. Both works provide a remarkable outlet for reflection and opens pathways into a new self. "So when we read memoir, we among other things, witness and in some sense participate in this marvelous act of self-discovery." ¹⁰

Students Define their Character by Writing Biographies and Memoirs

Winston Churchill, leader of Great Britain during World War II, effectively combined the making and writing of history: "History will treat me kindly…Because I propose to write it." ¹¹ Whether they believe it or not, my students are leaving bits and pieces of history. This could be a Tweet, a picture uploaded to Facebook, a diary entry about the events of their day, a movie stub, or a writing project about the Tablet of Hammurabi completed for their Social Studies class. Though, these pieces or what we can call archives may not actually depict who they are as an individual. Winston Churchill demonstrated this in a unfavorable painting that depicted him of a fat, old man that was commissioned by Parliament. Churchill died leaving instructions for his wife, Clementine, to burn it. Churchill was correct in stating that he can write his own history. My students can take this role as well.

Biography, auto biography and memoir can act as a great benefit to society in its ability to provide insights into human nature, in depicting patterns in behavior that could be useful to help define, interpret and understand the character within the narrative

"Biography is also expected to portray, by implication, how the individual's life connects with more universal aspects of the human condition: the common themes and preoccupations that fascinate us about life—from family to career, from love to wars from childhood to old age and death. Behind the record of an actual individual, there is this a broader, symbolic focus that constitutes a work of life-depiction: a focus that resonate with the reader and with his or her interests and concerns." ¹²

In examining human nature, we were asked to define character. This was a challenge in that is seems so simple of a term but there are so many variables that can determine the meaning of this word. The general consensus of our seminar is that character is who we are and what we are doing when no one is looking. We try to interpret someone's character through interpretation and observation; using archives of what was written or what we see in a picture or painting. Dr. Samuel Johnson stated that when he is writing a biography that he "was more interested, within in such chronicles, in those episodes and stories that resonated with the reader, and whose lessons could be applied to his or her own life…applicable knowledge is Johnson's goal for biography." ¹³

The applicable knowledge that Dr. Samuel Johnson states is the final outcome of my unit. We see now with social media that there is a lack of judgment in the 'archives' or evidence that the students are leaving behind in the world. In learning to write their own memoirs, I want my students to reflect on their own actions to help their audience learn from their mistakes. This in turn can help them ultimately help them reflect on their character and decide how they want to be remembered in the years to come.