Donald Murray: All Writing Is Autobiography Response

Author Donald M. Murray claims that all writing is autobiographical in his essay “All Writing is Autobiography” (College Composition and Communication, Vol. 42, No. 1, February 1991, Pages 66-74). In his essay he uses the first-person point of view, whilst providing a multitude of his writings as corroboration and quotes from his colleagues supporting his claim. Stating that any piece of writing we create is a part of us, because our voice will inevitably come on to the paper, and is therefore part of our autobiography.

Autobiography is “an account of a person’s life written by that person” (Oxford Languages and Google – English). Murray believes that “We are autobiographical in the way we write; my autobiography exists in the examples of writing I use in this piece and in the text I weave around them” (67). Not all writing is an account of a person’s life, even if it is written from their perspective, and in their voice.

“We become what we write” (71) contradicts Murray’s claims of how each piece of our writing is actually a piece of our autobiography; in this quote he is saying our writing doesn’t show who we are by exhibiting our voice, but by showing what shaped us.

Furthermore, Murray presents us with a half-truth, he even writes “I did not write the whole truth of that day, although the facts in the piece are accurate; I wrote a limited truth seeking a limited understanding” (69). This shows us how he constricts our understanding by embellishing his textual evidence, for had he used pieces with no autobiographical grounds, we would not have the perceived notion that all writing is autobiographical.

To conclude, we cannot correctly assume all writing is autobiographical. Murray used only supporting material, without challenging his claim. Another thesis: NOT all reading is autobiographical.