Edward Hirsch

The idea that a poem was a made thing stayed with me, and I decided then that I wanted to be an artist, not just a diarist. So I put myself through a kind of apprenticeship in writing poetry, and I understood even then that my practice as a poet was deeply related to my reading.

American Poet

Tavi Gevinson

Interviewing Rei Kawakubo in Tokyo and John Galliano in Paris, both for 'Pop' magazine, were huge for me, not just in learning about fashion and writing but about how little desire I had to be a critic/reporter/journalist/commentator so much as a kind of travel diarist.

American Writer

Dara Horn

Memory as an article of faith often comes naturally to writers, who by temperament are likely to be diarists and record keepers, forever searching past events for elusive patterns - and forever believing that such patterns are to be found.

American Novelist

John Banville

I've been wrestling with Kafka since I was an adolescent. I think he's a great aphorist, a great letter writer, a great diarist, a great short story writer, and a great novelist - I'd put novelist last.

Irish Novelist

Jonas Mekas

The nature of the video camera really makes you focus on the present. Since I have always been a diarist filmmaker, not one who stages scenes with actors, it has always been about the present moment.

Lithuanian Director

Carrie Fisher

Now I say I'm a diarist with an explanation I'll get back to you on. Someday I may try and write in memoir form.

American Actress

While diarists often write about their own lives, they might also comment on broader social or historical events.

Not Just Personal

Diarists frequently reflect on their thoughts and feelings, offering insight into their personal experiences.

Reflections

Some diarists become important historical sources, their diaries valued for giving a firsthand account of the past.

Historical Value

 men were finishing breakfast they were shining shoes are cleaning their rifles in some cases attending Sunday services many diarists report how many birds were singing that morning there was not a cloud in the sky but on the horizon it grew darker as the rebel hosts advanced