Gertrude Stein (1874-1926)

Gertrude was an American author who influenced writers such as Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway. Stein was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and graduated from Radcliffe College.

Stein's writing style was simple and repetitive. She believed that a lot of punctuation and difficult words distracted the reader fro the feelings of the characters. Telling the stories were secondary to Stein's communicating the feelings of the characters. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas is her best known book. It was about herself from Alice Toklas's point of view. Lectures in America, published in 1935, is a collection of lectures on literature, painting, and music.

Gertrude Stein was also an art critic and collector. She encouraged painters such as Pablo Picsso and Henri Martisse.

World Book Encyclopedia

Lillian Hellman (1905-1984)

Lillian Hellman was an American playwright from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her work had tightly woven plots which delved into psychological weakness and the social issues of her time. Hellman's plays dealt with greed and selfishness. Plays such as The Children's Hour (1934), The Little Foxes (1939), and Another Part of the Forest (1946) show how unchecked greed, selfishness, and lust can ruin lives and place human values as disposable.

Hellman's heyday was in the 1930's and 1940's as she saw the materialism and immorality taking root in society. Her authobiographical writing gained ne notoriety for her in the 1970's. An Unfinished Woman (1969) and Scoundrel Time (1976) are two of the better known works.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

One of the well known American poets of the nineteenth century, the reclusive Dickinson sought to expand her horizons rather be in the narrow minded literary establishment of her time. Dickinsson questioned the society that she lived in. She was nonconvetional i that she wrote about topics such as nature,life, and fleeting moments. Dickinson's best poems were written in the 1870's, when she slowed down from the intense pace that she wrote earlier in her life.

What I find fascinating about Emily Dickinson is that she could glean much depth from ordinary meanings. Dickinson lamented the alienation of intellectuals after the Civil War. She was reclusive and not available to her folks in her town but this makes Emily Dickinson a curiousity.

Phyllis Wheatley (1753?-1784)

Phyllis Wheatley was the first important black American poet. Brought on a slave at age eight, Wheatley was purchased for his wife by John Wheatley, a wealthy merchant tailor. Phyllis learned how to read and write. At age fourteen, Phyllis began to write poetry.
Some of her poems reflected this deeply Christian lady. Wheatley's book Poems on Varoius Subjects, Religion and Moral was published in 1773 in England. She was also aware of her status as a slave and those people who sought their independence. After Wheatley was freed and married a free slave, she disappeared from the poetry scene and died in obscurity.


World Book Encyclopedia

Women's Month

Since it is women's month I will feature women who have impacted the lives of others. Women do not get enough credit for their contributions to the betterment of the world. I will focus on women in the literary world. There are so many to choose from. Whether they are well known or obscure is not important. The tribute will begin tomorrow.

BACK IN OPERATION

Yesterday I installed internet in the laptop that I purchased. Now I'll be posting on a regular basis. I was posting using the computers at the public library. Now I can be in a more private setting and record my thoughts, comments, and bios.