Caroline Calloway's new book pays homage to the late Elizabeth Wurtzel, navigating the legacy of a writer who resonated with a generation through her raw honesty and vulnerability. The book explores the evolution of the 'sad girl' archetype in literature and culture, tracing its roots back to Wurtzel and examining its contemporary manifestations.
Caroline Calloway's new book, begins with Calloway explaining why she probably won't be sued for publishing it. The book itself is an ambitious revival of the late Wurtzel’s little-known advice memoir, originally published in 2001. Calloway’s remix began as an effort to avoid the possible wrath of the Wurtzel estate, resulting in a book that excerpts the high and lowlights of Wurtzel’s life, all while circumnavigating copyright law.
It’s part biography, part memoir, holding up Wurtzel’s life as a mirror for Calloway’s own.was maligned for many things that have become conventions of popular literature: sexy book covers, navel-gazing, trauma-dumping, et cetera. And while many critics mocked the writer for what they called her narcissism, Wurtzel herself never sought pity from the general public. The allure of Wurtzel’s chaos was real, and Calloway’s own power derives from her ability to weather it, sharing the plain facts of her life with both generosity and tact. As Calloway sees it, our contemporary digital lives, and the concurrent rise of the literary it-girl, can be traced back to. But what seems most evident about this so-called class of “sad girl” writers is their steady competence. Though their prose details the very real challenges of their lives, they still manage to secure book deals in the first place. Last month, before her guide to life hits bookshelves, I got on Zoom with Calloway, who now resides in her post-New York refuge of Sarasota, Florida. We gossiped about literary love triangles and complicated father figures, but more importantly, whether or not a woman who makes her life her art—and her art her life—is inherently tragic.JULIETTE JEFFERS: I wanted to start with this quote from the beginning of the book where you’re like, “I’m never going to learn to meet deadlines if I keep declaring myself the publicist of every mistreated female memoirist out there.” Obviously, you consider Elizabeth Wurtzel a literary mother. Do you feel as though it falls on Wurtzel’s literary daughters to protect her legacy? CAROLINE CALLOWAY: I’m focusing on Elizabeth Wurtzel, but we need more sad girls to publicize the other forgotten women from history, so that these great writers don’t slip away. It’s a call to action, because I can’t do it all myself. I’ve been declaring myself Elizabeth Wurtzel’s publicist, but only in a temporary fashion. I want to see this book be a jumping off point for, “Where’s her biography? Where are her published manuscripts? Why is her advice book fully out of print and has been for like 20 years?” I’m declaring myself Elizabeth Wurtzel’s publicist, but I am also declaring a call to action for others to help, because I cannot do this alone.JEFFERS: How have you witnessed this type evolving? Wurtzel is, in some ways, a very different literary it-girl than our contemporary ones, but her legacy is still very influential. CALLOWAY: I love that the term “lit girl” is really entering the modern dictionary. I love the piece that Allie Rowbottom wrote about lit girls forabout Lili’s book, where she mentioned me, which was honestly the biggest honor of my career. But I love that the term “lit girl” is becoming commonly used. I’m actually starting a podcast called. Just before this call, I was actually talking to Alexi Wasser. She’s going to do our Joan Didion episode. Obviously, we have Lili Anolik doing our season premiere. We’re going to have a lot of lit girl experts and lit girls in their own right covering other lit girls, like Cat Cohen, Lena Dunham, Julia Fox, Gabi Abrao. I’m trying to book Jenny Slate, but I haven’t heard back from her publicist. I’m really trying to make the podcast I want to exist.JEFFERS: This concept of literary it girl feels very New York-centric. It appeals to a very particular milieu of women. And you now live outside of that milieu, in Sarasota. Do you think it’s universal?article with Joan Didion and Eve Babitz, one of the other career highlights of my life was whenMagazine published that “It Girl” issue and put me on this list with my heroes like Julia Fox and Cat Marnell. And even Emily Ratajkowski, whose beauty and intelligence just absolutely frightens me. I was the only person on this list who had not set foot in New York in over two years. I really think that if you make a big enough splash while you’re in New York, you can coast off that energy for years. And that’s not a tribute to New York specifically. I think it’s just a testament to how one handles fame and plays the internet like a church organ. It’s more about being able to do things worth remembering.JEFFERS: To that point, one of the key observations you make in this book is the way in which Wurtzel wasn’t internet savvy. She was pre-internet in many ways. She was never going to make it as an e-girl, you know? CALLOWAY: I know. Elizabeth Wurtzel never really understood social medi
SAD GIRL LITERARY LEGACY ELIZABETH WURTZEL CAROLINE CALLOWAY NEW YORK
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