ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how Dodie Bellamy treads a line between vulnerability and vulgarity. Bellamy's work is not simply or straightforwardly shameless, because it demonstrates a keen awareness of, and commitment to, a certain "low culture" of female embodiment and a degraded "feminine" culture of the mainstream and the "tacky". The chapter further discusses some writing practices that are found in Bellamy's work and/or form part of her writing philosophy. In Bellamy's 2011 publication, The Buddhist, it is "love and longing" rather than sexual desire that is foregrounded, but the text nevertheless deploys the twin approaches of vulnerability and vulgarity as part of its exploration of the more shameful aspects of embodiment and literary expression. The book combines elements of confessional memoir with much self-reflexive musing on the writing of that story, alongside commentary on Bellamy's day-to-day life and involvement in the experimental poetry scene.
