This did not, however, stop me from attending an event called Stories Spark Change: Roxane Gay in Conversation with Eternity Martis, assuming it would give me some insight on Hunger, a memoir by Gay that I had read and loved in high school. After all, I had been taught throughout high school and much of university to ignore this biographical urge and focus on the words on the page. Having studied literature since I was 17, I was under the impression that I was immune to this pitfall. This is evidenced by our interest in finding the biographical roots of the lover figure in so many works of art, from Catullus’ love poetry to Taylor Swift’s songs.
Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual violence.Īudiences have always had an ever-present tendency to explain a work of art by investigating the life of its author.
