National Network for Equitable Library Service

Stories shape the world, imposing order on chaos, and the stories we tell declare: I exist. Neil Bissoondath presses these assertions about narrative further. Stories are also, he says, forms of confession. Each time we tell a story, we reveal a little about our experiences, dreams, fears, desires, and fantasies. Unlike governments, which try to control and simplify narrative, fiction writers use narrative expansively, for exploration and discovery. Questions are numerous; answers are rare. Fiction is confessional; born of the writer's own visions, terrors, and obsessions, it is unique in its ability to affirm human existence and confirm human complexity. The Age of Confession is the first Northrop Frye-Antonine Maillet Lecture, sponsored by the Université de Moncton. It was presented on April 29, 2006, in Moncton, New Brunswick, during the Northrop Frye International Literary Festival.