Writing the self: sense and sensibility

This paper makes an argument for the inclusion of emerging and local forms of DIY autobiographical writing in a life writing course, by placing some of the newer and less conventional examples of the genre in a meaningful relationship to older styles. It examines how life writing pedagogy can be expanded to engage with contemporary cultures of writing and publishing the self, such as zines and blogs, and the effect this has on opening up styles and notions of authorship. The work of a younger generation of Australian writers is suggested as a way of connecting with students’ lives at the level of the quotidian and everyday.