Things I Don't Want To Know: On Writing

In her feminist answer to George Orwell's 1946 essay "Why I Write," Levy (Swimming Home; Beautiful Mutants; The Unloved) muses on her life experiences, using as her chapter headings Orwell's four motivations for writing: Political Purpose, Historical Impulse, Sheer Egoism, and Aesthetic Enthusiasm. As a child living in South Africa, she felt the sting of apartheid's cruelty at an early age. Not only did Levy see the "White Only" signs everywhere, but she watched her father's arrest for being an African National Congress member. The family's move to London when she was nine left her feeling displaced and sad, especially after her parents separated. As a teen she decided to be a writer, hanging out in the local greasy diner, dressed in a black straw hat and green platform shoes. Later, at age 50, while in Mallorca, she reflects on the expectations society places on women.