Comparison of Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, and Amy Winehouse's Journals

First of all, I’d like to mention that this is an especially fun assignment for me since my grandfather used to work for the government analyzing crime suspects’ hand-writing through graphology. He gave me a book on the subject years ago, and has taught me a lot about it. Inevitably, I will include some of those analyzations in this paper.

After speaking about Kurt Cobain, someone whose opinions and lyrics I have always had a lot of respect for (he was a complete feminist which I think is awesome), I was intrigued to analyze his writing a little further since I have not read too much by him in the past. With that, my interest in Courtney Love peaked, and I managed to find a few diary entries of hers as well. Lastly, to stick with the depressed and self-destructive, yet brilliant, musicians, I chose to also take a look at Amy Winehouse’s journals. 

The first thing I noticed about Cobain’s writing is that it seems rushed when he is excited or passionate about something. He crosses a lot of stuff out because he doesn’t really seem to think about what it will look like or how it will come out before he puts pen to paper. He used his journals, it seems like, to reflect on his problems and personal faults - he was trying to figure out who he was but obviously never really got a chance to before his premature death. He writes: “Maybe if I dwell on these relationships with people I might help myself and them as well.” Something that becomes very clear in this sentence if one has knowledge of graphology is that he values others a lot more than he values himself. This is clear because the word “myself” is below the line while “them” is above it. Cobain had a tendency to write below the line in general, which indicates negative thoughts and depression.

Something I have always loved about Cobain is his extreme liberal and feminist views. He writes: “…but at the top of the food chain is still the white, corporate, macho, strong ox male… classism is determined by sexism.” Contrary to the other diary entry, it seems like this particular one might have been partly written for an audience to read, whether it was consciously, because his writing is smoother, not as cluttered, easier to read. He cleaned up his language a little in this one and the style of it reminds me of a speech an activist would possibly hold in a room of people. 

Overall, Cobain’s diaries were definitely a venting outlet for him to find out who he was, but also to come up with, and entertain already existing, ideas.

Courtney Love’s writing is a little bit more dramatic and immature - not the words or message in particular but the style of her writing. Big, round letters often indicate a sense of immaturity, and contrary to Cobain’s entries, Love writes all over the place, above and below the lines which could be analyzed as a rebellious personality, and an entitlement that rules/laws don’t really apply to her. 

It’s also interesting to see how her writing style shifts depending on what mood she’s in. In her slightly depressed state of mind, judging from the text, Love’s handwriting is childish and stubborn, chaotic and strong. However, while writing about her goals, the text is more structured and leans to the right which indicates maturity. 

She definitely utilizes her diary/journal to vent in the same way Cobain did. They both have feelings of not belonging, the world not being what they want it to be, and a sense of trying to find themselves through jotting down their innermost thoughts. She also uses it as a checklist type of outlet; what she wants out of life, goals etc. It’s interesting to look at it because it reminds me so much of what we discussed in class trying to pinpoint what a journal is or isn’t. What I really like is how artsy she is with her different colors and photos. It inspires me to do something similar myself - I am positive that it will make it a lot more fun to look through in 20 years or so.

When reading some of Amy Winehouse’s diary entries, it seems like she primarily wrote to control her anger, or at least to vent by getting it out on paper. Similarly to Cobain’s writing, her words sometimes fall under the line, and it makes sense because most of us probably know that Winehouse suffered from depression and addiction. The piece of writing that says “Jan. ???” could have possibly been written when she was high. The content does not really make total sense and the writing is relatively hard to read compared to the first one I referred to. She is obviously, again, angry and is using her journal to vent. 

I hate to say this because I love Amy Winehouse’s music and I think she was brilliant, a genius, but I would be so uncomfortable around her considering how explosive she could get, and I would not know how to handle her rants about, what to me, are petty details. I would say she was very intelligent, yet from what I read, similarly to Courtney Love, entitled in a lot of ways. Maybe that is simply the effects of stardom and fame and maybe I should feel sorry for these people instead of judging them too hard for feeling entitled. I have too been depressed and dealt with anxiety, and to combine fundamental feelings of low self-worth with their level of fame would definitely screw with ones head.  

In conclusion, I would like to say that I see a lot of similarities between Cobain and Love when it comes to thoughts and philosophies, but not so much between them and Winehouse. Analyzing Winehouse’s writing also gives me the feeling that she felt very lonely, and alienated herself from close relationships. I did not feel that way when reading Cobain and Love’s writing. They all, however, use/d their diaries to vent and make themselves feel better, and to make sense of things that is/was going on in their lives.