Powerful truths in women's voices
When her mother died, Anna Maria Jarvis, a high school teacher, vowed to found a memorial to mothers. As an unmarried woman without children, she visualized the day, not as her mother and other early advocates had—as a day of action by women who were mothers, but rather as a day to memorialize mothers’ sacrifices. …
Sherley Anne Williams (American, 1944-1999) was a multi-talented writer who sought to bring the black experience to literature. Born into a poor family that lived by picking cotton and fruit, she became the first African American literature professor at the University of California, San Diego. She is known for her works of literary criticism, children's books, …
Woman’s great mission is to train immature, weak, and ignorant creatures to obey the laws of God; the physical, the intellectual, the social, and the moral. Catherine Beecher Born in 1800 into the famous Beecher clan which included Harriet Beecher Stowe of Uncle Tom's Cabin fame and the infamous preacher Henry Ward Beecher, Catherine …
If the American way of life fails the child, it fails us more. Pearl S. Buck (1982-1973) spent all her childhood and a good part of her adult life living in China. Most of her over thirty novels are based on this experience and were instrumental in shaping American views of life in China.  In 1938 …
Continue reading "Pearl S. Buck on Making Meaning Out of Meaningless"
On this Mother's Day I ask us to think about our mothers, both real and fictive, and their role in our creative lives. Eleanor Munroe is best known for her in depth studies of the relationship between artists and their art. In 1979 she wrote Originals: American Women Artists in which she brought a new perspective …
Continue reading "Eleanor Munroe on My Mother, Amply Pregnant"
November 12th is Elizabeth Cady Stanton's birthday. Stanton has gone down in history as a tireless fighter for women's rights who spoke her mind and would not be cowed. She was also a tender and loving mother who didn't tolerate nonsense concerning child-rearing. The following excerpt relates her experiences caring for her first-born. …I had …
Women, Words, and Wisdom 