DeepSummary
Sarah Gristwood, a writer and historian, discusses her new anthology 'Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries' which features excerpts of diaries written by women from different eras arranged by the date of the entries. She shares her passion for women's diaries as they provide insights into their thoughts, feelings, and experiences that are often missing from conventional historical records.
Gristwood highlights the secrecy and individuality expressed in these diaries, where women were able to voice opinions and emotions that were not acceptable in their time. She also notes how the diaries reveal the frustrations and anger women felt towards the restrictions and expectations imposed on them throughout history.
The episode explores the significance of diary writing and how it has evolved, from a spiritual tool to a means of self-expression and self-discovery. Gristwood discusses the potential of social media as a modern form of diary keeping, allowing for a broader range of voices to be preserved.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The preservation of women's diaries has traditionally favored the upper class and famous individuals, but efforts have been made to include a wider range of voices.
- Diaries can serve as a means of preserving one's identity and can hold great personal value for the writer.
- Women's diaries provide valuable insights into their thoughts, feelings, and experiences that are often missing from conventional historical records.
- Diaries allowed women to voice opinions and emotions that were not socially acceptable in their time, serving as a space for self-expression and individuality.
- A common theme in women's diaries throughout history is a sense of frustration towards the restrictions and expectations imposed on them by society.
- Diary writing has evolved from a spiritual tool to a means of self-discovery and self-validation.
- Social media may serve as a modern form of diary keeping, allowing for a broader range of voices to be preserved.
- Diaries capture both the extraordinary and the mundane aspects of women's lives, providing a more complete picture of their experiences.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I think writing a diary is a pretty major statement of individuality, really.“ by Sarah Gristwood
- “But there's a lot about pleasure, too.“ by Sarah Gristwood
- “Heaven knows there are many happy things, funny things, outright tragic things in the diaries. But the one theme, the single strongest theme I felt was that sense of frustration.“ by Sarah Gristwood
- “Where would people like me, historians, in the future, be without them?“ by Sarah Gristwood
- “So while I hope and believe that conventional diary writing, whether it's on paper and pencil or whether it's into a microphone, I don't think that will ever go away. But I think we might have to broaden the field a bit.“ by Sarah Gristwood
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Episode Information
Unladylike
Unladylike Media
5/29/24
What do 400 years-worth of women's published diaries tell us about the kinds of secrets and feelings we keep to ourselves? From a 16th-century spiritualist to the diaries of Anne Frank and Ma Yan, writer Sarah Gristwood reveals the everyday histories they document, the age-old frustrations they share and why she's a proponent of hanging onto your old journals. (Yes, even the embarrassing ones!) Highlights include: writing in code, pie for dinner, peach lingerie and notes to future selves.
Sarah's new anthology is Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries.
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