Browse all of the Salem on Literature series

Between Friends (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)

At a glance:

Biography presents a picture of a person’s life through the eyes as well as the bias of the biographer. Autobiography does much the same, except that its perspective is presumed to be more accurate, since it is the unique view of the subject. Yet even autobiography records from a distance, through the filter of time and space. Therefore it is not quite congruent to the actual event or to the person it highlights. A letter, on the other hand, offers an existential yet enduring window into a lived reality and into the person experiencing it as it occurs. The strength of the letter is...

[The entire page is 1983 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

Lookup any word on eNotes with our dictionary. Highlight the word and press SHIFT + D for a definition, or SHIFT + T for a synonym.