Susan Sontag was an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, teacher, and political activist. Some of the pieces of work she is most excited known for was that of On Photography (1977), and Illness as Metaphor (1978), as well as the fictional works The Way We Live Now (1986), The Volcano Lover (1992), and In America (1999). She studied philosophy, theology, and literature at Harvard University and Saint Anne’s College (Estate of Susan Sontag, 2010). Susan was so well known because she would choose to write about very controversial topics such as cultures, illness, and human rights. These topics can often be very difficult to please all people.
Two volumes of Sontag’s diaries have now been published with the third on the way. Although she had passed away, her son, David Rieff, has been reading her unedited diaries and making the necessary edits. (Malcom, 2019) This is crucial because originally, these diaries were her unfiltered and uncensored thoughts as she grew up. this is very interesting to see that after her death, her son saw the need to finish what her mother unknowingly started.(Sontag, 2003)
Susan was known for fighting for what she believed was right now matter the cost. In her book “The Pain of Others” you learn about a book that Susan had read and then you get to see what her spin and opinions on the book are which could even change what a reading thought of the same story themselves. This book took the world by storm because she was such a great writer that everyone wanted to hear what she had to say. For example, “Her books illuminate without simplifying, complicate without obfuscating, and insist above all that to ignore what threatens us is both irresponsible and dangerous”(Estate of Susan Sontag, 2010). This shows that people believe that Susan gives her undying opinion no matter the actions that may come because of it no matter how dangerous or hurtful they can be.
Works Cited:
Estate of Susan Sontag. (2010). Susan Sontag. Retrieved November 28, 2021,
from http://www.susansontag.com/SusanSontag/index.shtml.
Malcom, J. (September 16, 2019). Susan Sontag and the Unholy Practice of Biography The New Yorker. Retrieved November 28, 2021,
from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/23/susan-sontag-and-the-unholy-practice-of-biography
Sontag, S (March 23, 2003). ‘Regarding the Pain of Others’. The New York Times. Retrieved November 28, 2021,
from https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/books/chapters/regarding-the-pain-of-others.html
Great Job with your post! It will help with the material for this week, and it was very interesting to read.
This comment was very informative for this weeks readings! Great post
Nice job on your post! I think it provides important context about the ideas we are discussing this week!
This is a very informative presentation. It is great to hear how she advocated for what she believed in and was very influential with it.
Great job. It is really interesting to hear about the author of this weeks work. It is surprising that she is so respected despite never meaning to put out some of her own work. I am excited to hear about what she has to say on some of the controversial topics she covers.
It is interesting how I have never heard of Susan Sontag before, despite her great accomplishments that you described in your context presentation. Perhaps even till today she is controversial?
I really enjoyed reading your presentation. It was very informative for this weeks readings. Great Post!
Great post! Sontag’s credentials and work are very impressive. Additionally, I don’t know how I feel about someone editing her diary. I think they should not touch her diary because they are her personal, uncensored thoughts.
I loved this post. It was really informative and I had not really heard of this beforehand.
Great post. It is really interesting to hear about how impressive her writing was. I also didn’t know that her son had to finish her work.
I loved your post, as I thought it was very informative! I think she is a fascinating author who has a lot of readings.
Hi Thank you for your post! I found it is very informative and you introduced a lot of her other works, which makes really excited to read more of her fascinating books.
I think your post is very informative. I believe learning about the history of the author can be very helpful when reading their work. It’s cool she still has other unwritten books that her son is editing and publishing the rest of her work.