By Sophie Kilbride
Opinion Editor
Poet Diannely Antigua visited Washington College in late October, read from her published books, and discussed podcasting with the campus. Her work highlights the importance of uplifting confessional poetry in the literary community.
First emerging out of the 1950s and 60s, confessionalism was a reaction against stringent social norms of the Cold War era.
According to the literary magazine Dappled Things, “In some circles, ‘confessional poetry’ is a dirty term.”
The works of poets like Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath are considered confessional due to their use of direct speech to reflect on intense psychological experiences.
Writer Jake Orbison wrote about the deeply entrenched critical disdain for confessionalism in The Paris Review.
“Who wants to be a confessional poet? Those we’ve saddled with the label — Lowell, Berryman, Snodgrass, Sexton, et cetera — usually react to it with frustration, if not outright hatred,” Orbison said.
Since the inception of confessionalism, the genre has sustained several movements and recently undergone a renewal helped by social media.
Antigua’s work demonstrates the continuing necessity for poets to address complex contemporary issues and “taboo” cultural feelings.
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced society indoors and away from their support systems, online literature saw a massive spike in popularity.
Writing gave people struggling with loneliness, depression, anxiety, and poor mental health an outlet for connecting with others facing similar experiences.
Antigua’s poetry reflects the visceral, deeply personal, and difficult nature of the current confessionalist genre.
“I had faced death almost eight years prior and was facing death once again, now on a global scale. Death seemed ever persistent to find me. Yet amidst all of this, I found kindness, a love that felt so unfamiliar to me but always deeply desired,” Antigua said in an interview with the Academy of American Poets.
While debates between scholars are still ongoing concerning the literary merit of confessional and online poetry, the role the revival of the genre has had in creating understanding and sparking connection among modern writers is indispensable.
“In posting their pain as online poetry, these writers have found not only an outlet but also a huge community that shares their experiences, thus turning confessionalism from that of ‘the personal’ to ‘the collective,’” English professor Sukyana Garg said.
While Antigua’s poems have all the markings of her confessionalist predecessors — dealing with depression, suicidal ideation, and trauma — she navigates in and out of genre, pushing confessionalism to entirely new places.
“My goal is to demystify poetry, make it truly accessible to all in a way that nourishes the soul,” Antigua said on her podcast Bread & Poetry.
Literary critics, snobs, and intelligentsia might not place much merit in the genre. Still, universalizing poetry, especially poetry that grapples with current societal and cultural issues, is meaningful to a diverse spectrum of readers.
Those searching for meaning in Antigua’s poems can peel back her writing layer by layer — she has something to say to every reader, regardless of their poetical expertise.
As poetry becomes popular in non-traditional spaces and increasingly confessional, literary communities should remain open to grappling with difficult topics told through surprising mediums.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Visiting poet Diannely Antigua underscores the importance of uplifting confessionalism in poetry and literary spaces.