Experimental Life Writing—Special Issue Introduction

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article introduces Experimental Life Writing, a special issue dedicated to exploring narratives that push the boundaries of the form. It provides an overview of the field of experimental life writing, as it is viewed in the contemporary, and homes in on the relationship between creative practice and critical interpretation of the genre. It goes on to discuss the conference from which the special issue was born, with its particular focus on placing creative and critical practitioners in conversation. The article concludes with a précis of the resulting papers, which range from coining new hybrid genres, to analysing spontaneous writing practices, and identity creation in writing, taking in themes as broad as gender, death, childhood, technology and international politics.