WRITING

Looking At Authenticity

Vulnerability in writing, flaws and prejudices

Often, readers hear writers or critics talk about authenticity in writing. I once wondered what this meant. How could a writer be authentic or not authentic? Then we hear talk of vulnerability. What is that? I had a lot to think about as I made my way through sixth form college and university.

I came to deduce that authenticity has to do with being oneself entirely, in writing as in life. Authors who are interviewed sound just as they write. No airs and graces, no pretence.

Look at Hilary Mantel, who wrote the Wolf Hall series. In interviews she sounds just like her writing in her books. That isn’t to say we only have one style of writing in us. It is to say that what we write rings true about us, the writer.

Then we have T.S. Elliot, the poet. Was he authentic? Or just flawed? He put his wife in an asylum to suit his endeavours and was anti-semitic. To me these are not flaws but decisions based on misinformation and are immoral. He was prejudiced against Jews for whatever reason. That is no flaw, it is a decision a choice. I prefer not to read him. I will not stop others. I really do not believe in censorship at all. I do think, though, that wisdom can be manifested. Take Salman Rushdie and Midnight’s Children.

I don’t consider T.S. Elliot to be authentic or vulnerable. That he was flawed is an understatement. He made choices. Flaws are not deliberate. I don’t like winter. That is a flaw of mine. I prefer warmer weather, although not searing heat.

We choose to read and write here on Medium. Do we write with authenticity? That is, we are within our writing, our voice is distinct. But more than that, we stay in the tone of our writing without adding grandiose statements about poetry or the weather. Statements that cannot possible be true. (I don’t mean statements that are in keeping with a fantasy based story.)

I have read essays that kill their authenticity with a flamboyant statement. Then, in comments, reality is admitted. The inauthenticity of their writing is exposed. They write beautifully, but cannot resist the triumphant but false sentence that kills their style, their voice.

“Be yourself, everyone else is taken” — Oscar Wilde

For myself, I try not to write anything that I must withdraw in comments. Or make realistic. I recently wrote about a journey with my daughter. I didn’t need to make anything up because every part of that story is a fond memory that stays with me. I write what I know. This is my first attempt at presenting a philosophical debate. I am nervous. However, I feel this debate is worth having so I push on.

I don’t do read for read. I do return to my favorite writers who I know will have something interesting to say. Or they may be talented at conveying profound truths or wisdom. Largely, I have my tribe, but I like to grow it and that might mean I miss something by one someone I read regularly. And vice versa.

Some days ago, I read someone I had not read for over a week. They said how good it was to see me. I mentioned my surprise because I had read them two days previously. They apologized for not seeing it. Then they showed up in comments on my last story. A lack of authenticity bell went off in my brain. They then told me they only do read for read as it’s only “fair”. I disagree. I think good writing deserves to be read. I was finding this writer, who is not a writer, to bore me and use material found elsewhere. Very flawed indeed. No authenticity there.

I hope I sound the same in comments as I do in my writing. I can say I am a writer as I have been published elsewhere and have three collections of poetry, but I choose not to show them here as I am scarred by the dangers of the internet. The internet is a dangerous place and I choose to stay safe.

So, we need to be aware of not becoming authors who lack authenticity. With my flaw, I won’t be writing much about winter. I hope I don’t end my writing with flamboyance or surreal statements. Please let me know if you think I do.

It is good to be polished with our language but not so polished or grandiose that we are no longer a pleasure to read. Whatever the tone of your story or essay, keep that tone throughout. Don’t ruin it with a fatuous word or phrase. Just be yourself.