Joe Brainard’s “Autobiography” stuck out at me for peculiar reasons. Going through the packet of NYC Poems Packet I, coming across this particular poem was interesting. It wasn’t complicated, or had any difficult language, or any complex language at all. Brainard summed up what he was just feeling at the time when he wrote it, or at least that what it seems. I feel like this poem is so relatable because of its simplicity, yet complexity behind it. In between the lines you can see the story of a man who has had a long complex life that he just doesn’t feel like talking about, so he sums himself up in a nutshell. Its interesting to me personally because I feel like this is how I sometimes speak about myself and my stories. When I am talking to someone and I have to explain certain parts of my life, most of the time, no matter who they may be, I just say that it is “too complicated” and not very “interesting.” Brainard interests me because I understand the thinking behind saying this about one’s life or experiences.
I believe that Brainard writes this because he does not want to relive any of those past experiences, whatever they may be. He does not want to remember what happened, his feelings during those times, and definitely does not want to explain them to the reader. However, I believe he tells the reader that it is alright to say these sometimes because, sometimes, its better off to just describe yourself for who you are at the moment, i.e. a “painter or writer,” or the way you think because it is the most honest and simplest version of yourself and of your “autobiography.”
He ends his “autobiography” with, “What I want most is to open up. I keep trying.” This intrigues me so much because I feel that so many people have this exact problem, including myself. It is relatable and different from almost all other writers because, as illustrated in this packet, all other writers willingly write about their lives or have someone else write about them because they can easily “open up” and talk about their experiences. Brainard appears to be more private, more closed, than other writers, which to me gives him a more human quality to him that allows me to see him as just like anyone else, just like me. I believe that it is great to be open, but I also think that being private is just as great, so instead of just writing someone off by saying “its complicated,” we can take different approaches to keep our privacy, but by not being so ambiguous in the way we speak and not closing ourselves off completely from other people.
