55. Why We Journal
“In the journal I do not just express myself more openly than I could to any person; I create myself.” – Susan Sontag
“It is an odd idea for someone like me to keep a diary; not only because I have never done so before, but because it seems to me that neither I—nor for that matter anyone else—will be interested in the unbosomings of a thirteen-year-old school girl.” – Anne Frank
“The diary is an art form just as much as the novel or the play. The diary simply requires a greater canvas; it is a chronological tapestry which, in its ensemble, or at whatever point it is abandoned, reveals a form and language as exacting as other literary forms.” – Henry Miller
“The diary taught me that it is in the moments of emotional crisis that human beings reveal themselves most accurately. I learned to choose the heightened moments because they are the moments of revelation.” – Anaïs Nin
“In the journal I do not just express myself more openly than I could to any person; I create myself.” – Susan Sontag
Prompt:
Write a journal entry about why you journal. Are there certain stories or forms you gravitate toward? People or places you prefer to leave out? Do you imagine anyone reading your entries? Do you notice a difference between journaling with prompts and without? As a private practice or one you share with others?
Dylan Brooks
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
About: I'm a 27-year-old Canadian in practice; orbiting the planet of free form poetry/prose. What was once love letters is now a full-time creative writing passion, inspired mostly by self-reflection and an outward connection to the world around us. I have written nine poems prompted by The Isolation Journals project, and it's honestly THE closest I've felt to a community of artists. This has been a journey and the train won't stop here, so until it jumps the tracks, I'm grateful to Suleika and the Team for such a wonderful ride. Thank you!
Age: 27
why do we write? what is our purpose and how will it serve a language using words? the reasons are plenty so long as they don’t come empty. you see me – mine stem from the earth. some rooted in the art of storytelling and all it’s worth; honouring those who came and fought first. it’s these lessons we must work to preserve before data collection puts human connection into a hearse. traditions will be buried beyond recognition and our history will dissolve into the dirt. unless we learn to love; and teach how it can just as easily hurt – or we may fade like rhythm without a verse. spoken words cannot go half-heard or unfelt. what if all we had were stories – and nothing else? in every story there’s something that can help. so why do i write? i write to understand the versions of ourselves.