IN HER NEW MEMOIR Ongoingness, Sarah Manguso traces the beginning of her diary to one moment. “At an art opening in the late ’80s,” she writes, “I held a plastic cup of wine and stood in front of a ...

I used to keep a journal religiously. Every day, without fail, I would sit down before bed and write about my day, my problems at the time, my friends, enemies, emotions, philosophies and observations ...