female/feminist poets/writers

bookclover · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:44 am Post subject: female/feminist poets/writers

Hi all,

So good to see booktalk back on track;-)

I am trying to put together a list of female/feminist writers/poets -focus on the 20th cen-, would you like to help?

Thanks

Bookclover

NaddiaAoC · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:32 am Post subject: Re: female/feminist poets/writers

Are you talking fiction only writers, or non-fiction as well? An excellent introductory book to feminism is Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti.

Cheryl

Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear. -Thomas Jefferson

MadArchitect · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 3:37 pm Post subject: Re: female/feminist poets/writers

I don't know if she counts as feminist, but Iris Murdoch is definitely a thinker and writer to include on any list of prominent and influential 20th century female writers. Katherine Mansfield straddles the line between 19th and 20th, so whether or not you include her is probably a matter of taste. Dorothy Parker is impish, and certainly attacked social norms, but I don't know that she'd qualify as full-bred feminist. And I'm also a fan of Edith Templeton, a short story writer whose "The Darts of Cupid" shares certain affinities with the work of Bernard Malamud.

bookclover · Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 2:54 am Post subject: Re: female/feminist

I meant novelists and poets but thanks both for the suggestions!

Niall001 · Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:44 am Post subject: Re: female/feminist

Maybe you should include Angela Carter and Flannery O'Connor.

And they're probably the only female writers I give a fig about.

My Blog - with hidden tunes

George Ricker · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:35 am Post subject: Re: female/feminist

I think you would want to include The Women's Room by Marilyn French.

George

http://www.godlessinamerica.com

"Godlessness is not about denying the existence of nonsensical beings. It is the starting point for living life without them."

Godless in America by George A. Ricker

irishrose · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:59 pm Post subject:

I agree with Mad on Mansfield, though she straddles the line between 19th and 20th century, her work is very 20th centuryish. I would also include Kate Chopin in the same way.

Edith Wharton might be the same as Mansfield and Chopin, though I think most consider her a 20th century writer.

Otherwise, in no particular order:

Shirley Jackson
Sylvia Plath
Katherine Anne Porter
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Toni Morrison
Zora Neale Hurston
Ntozake Shange
Harper Lee
Alice Walker
Bharati Mukherjee
Virginia Woolf
Nella Larsen
Margaret Atwood
Doris Lessing
E. Annie Proulx
Arundhati Roy

And if you’re including juvenile fiction:

Laura Ingalls Wilder
Beatrix Potter

Well, that’s who I thought of so far. I’ll add to it, if others come to mind. Fill us in on your final list, when you reach it, bookclover.

Niall001 · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject:

irishrose · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:49 am Post subject:

Niall, I’m certainly not saying that the authors I think worth mentioning are the ones that are going to pull your ribbons. I merely meant what I said. When I come across comments like yours, I think they speak more to the limited experiences of the individual rather than to that individual’s insidious implications. But I think those implications can be damaging, so I usually note them when I come across them.

Also, just to clarify, bookclover had asked for a list of female/feminist writers/poets, I read that as female and/or feminist, not specifically feminist. I think, despite some feminist tendencies that might be in their literature, very few authors write with the intention of being a feminist writer, as it is such a limiting tag.

Niall001 · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:59 am Post subject:

Fair enough Irish, but sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. You'll need a shovel, a torch and a great imagination to find any insidious implications in what I've said.

MadArchitect · Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 3:15 pm Post subject:

You might also want to throw in S.E. Hinton, who pretty much revolutionalized juvenille fiction, and Judy Blume, who either scarred or liberated entire generations, depending on your point of view.

Has anyone mentioned Erica Jong, yet? And what's the name of the woman who wrote "The Story of O"? Ah, crap, and what's her name... Canadian writer... "The Blind Assassin", etc... too lazy to consult Amazon.

Based on "The Awakening" along, I can't say I'm a big fan of Kate Chopin. Can you maybe recommend something else worth reading by her, Rose?

irishrose · Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 8:10 am Post subject:

Niall, despite what I am almost certain you, and probably others here, have assumed about me regarding gender issues, I have no torch to burn, nor rubbish to shovel. In fact, I think such gender-specific reading lists, like the above, are generally ill-advised. The only reason I submitted names was in response to your implication. And I assure you that my reaction to your comment is firmly rooted in observation and experience and not imagination.

Mad, surprisingly, as I practically grew up on Coppola’s Rumble Fish, I’ve never read any S.E. Hinton. I should probably read some of her work. I’ve never been inspired to try Judy Blume, but I could see her included on a list of juvenile fiction writers, though I don’t imagine her non-juvenile fiction would make any list. As for Jong, I only read Fear of Flying and, outside the zipperless (zipless?) fuck coinage, was largely unmoved. Though I enjoyed her often witty writing, I think the story may speak to an audience with which I don’t necessarily relate. That was years ago though, perhaps I should give it, or a different book, another chance. The Blind Assassin is Margaret Atwood, whom I included, but probably not because of The Blind Assassin, which, I thought could stand for some heavy editing. I think Atwood might be too prolific for her own good, but she does have some really interesting work.

As for The Awakening, I didn’t like it the first time through either. Because it was so topical, despite not really liking it, I included it in a research project a few years back, and grew to appreciate it more. That’s not to suggest that you give it a second chance. I actually included Chopin for her short stories, which I much prefer, particularly “The Story of an Hour,” “Wiser Than a God,” “Two Summers and Two Souls,” “The Locket,” and “The White Eagle.”

And, in looking up two of those short story titles in my Chopin collection, I noticed Sandra Cisneros on my bookshelf, who I can’t believe I missed before.

Also, not because I particularly like her myself, but because most would include her on their list of 20th century poets, Adrienne Rich. BTW, my not liking Rich has more to do with my not really enjoying poetry than with Rich herself.

Niall001 · Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 8:21 am Post subject:

irishrose · Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:45 pm Post subject:

Do you mean in addition to the very existence of this thread and lists such as the one housed within? Rather than further derail bookclover’s inquiry, I’ll p.m. you, assuming I can figure it out on this new board.

irishrose · Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:24 pm Post subject:


	FORUMS	ABOUT	BOOKS	VIDEOS	TRANSCRIPTS	LINKS	BLOGS	DONATE	CONTACT