The author traces The Art of Confession beginning with Poetry and ending with social media. The essays were good but I really liked the interludes. The first essays explore poetry and performance art and include many names who may no longer be familiar. Those early beginning have lead us to current Social Media Confessions and Reality TV. The text also includes photographs.

The Art of Confession: The Performance of the Self from Robert Lowell to Reality TV is a complete and fascinating study of “Confession” related to 1960’s Poetry, Stand-up Comedy, Spoken Word, 1970’s monologue, consciousness, and performance arts. The 1980’s-- talk shows, film and theater. The 1990’s—cable and reality television; followed by the social media platforms of the 2000’s. This authoritative book is expertly researched by Christopher A. Grobe PhD., he is the Assistant Professor of English at Amherst College, Massachusetts.

Life Studies (1959) by poet Robert Lowell was famously reviewed by M.L. Rosenthal. The review titled “Poetry as Confession” is what defined what we now understand as the genre of confession. Poetry readings by Lowell, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, John Berryman etc. were offered at colleges and universities drawing huge crowds, before moving to smaller venues catering to local and lesser known poets and performance artists. For a select few, the possibility to earn a living or gain substantial wealth or fame is an undeniable appealing factor of this genre. The process of the artist connecting with the audience was originally celebrated as a “breakthrough” experience. Each confessional reading or artist performance represented a possibility for change, inspiration, reinvention and/or renewal on a journey of greater health and wellbeing.

The performance artists, writers and actors are always open to public judgment. Today, modern memoirist’s Lena Dunham, Chloe Caldwell and Emily Gould were accused of writing TMI (too much information) mainly about their sex lives, despite the high advances paid and/or brisk book sales. Oprah approved “Wild” Cheryl Strayed (2013) began as a biographical novel, she also wrote personal essays and an advice column “Dear Sugar”. For a new “Life Writer,” committing their story to print represented a promising performance, according to Grobe.
In the book “The Compulsion To Confess” (1959) psychoanalyst Theodor Reik was among the first to examine the” rubric of confession” stating the urge to act out was a neurotic form of self-betrayal.
Harvard professor and literary critic Lionel Trilling (1969) noted that there was a “struggle” to discover the authentic self through the confessional form where the truth could be “discredited” in an endless search for reality. Trilling went on to describe “a race to the bottom” if the only concern was for the self instead of political or community forms of engagement.
In the “Culture of Narcissism” (1979) Christopher Lasch warned of the scandalous desire to know each other through “mere disclosure” instead of referring to (a higher level) historical knowledge and insight.

Critics further observed that television “secured a place for drama” that the theater failed to provide. Grobe noted that he had been “spying” on talk show hosts, news anchors and politicians his entire adult life. Andy Warhol’s famous quote regarding the quest for 15 minutes of fame was highlighted by ordinary contestants that starred on the cable reality TV show: “The Real World” (1992-). Eager to be noticed, or have a chance to become famous, these contestants’ sign over the rights to their life stories that allow producers the right to portray them in any manner that show director’s see fit. In the casting line-up in the 26th season, participants were encouraged to “be real”- “be themselves” and open and willing to act, confess, and agree on the “guest form” they could be portrayed in demeaning, defamatory, embarrassing or other unfavorable ways. This was truly an inexpensive way to obtain union free and low cost labor as the show filled the airwaves, attracting fans/followers, and big business sponsors.

It seems that there will always be a market and need for confessional arts and material, and with the alternative, experimental multimedia platforms it is easier than ever to publically share and make a statement. In another light, the importance of vital connections to others through confession is a piece of our essence and humanity. Photographs and other pictures included. **With thanks and appreciation to New York University Press for the DDC for the purpose of review.