By Skyler Gomez | On March 31, 2020 | Updated September 27, 2026 | Comments (2)
With its rich history, Cuban literature is considered among the most influential in the Spanish-speaking world, and women have long been an intrinsic part of its development. Here, we’ll take a look at ten inspirational classic Cuban women authors that deserve to be discovered and read.
Cuban literature started its emergence at the start of the 19th century. Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, the earliest of the writers listed here, focused on abolitionist characters.
After the abolition of slavery in Cuba in 1886, the focus of Cuban literature shifted to themes of independence, freedom, social protest, and personal as well as universal issues. Read More→
By Susan Bailey | On February 16, 2020 | Updated September 2, 2022 | Comments (0)
Louisa May Alcott: A Biography by Madeleine B. Stern (1999) is considered the definitive biography of the famous author of Little Women (1868). Presented here is Stern’s brilliant analysis of Little Women.
Tracing the life of Louisa May Alcott (1832 – 1888) the writer, Stern gives penetrating insight not only into Alcott’s life, but her very essence as a writer.
As a writer myself, I have found much wisdom in these pages and have marveled at Alcott’s ability to “simmer a story” in her head while fulfilling duties around the house, and then later sitting down to spill it out on paper to submit without editing.
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By Nava Atlas | On November 29, 2019 | Updated July 23, 2026 | Comments (1)
Louisa May Alcott (1832 – 1888) may be best known as the author of Little Women and its sequels, but there was more to her than these genteel (yet gently subversive) domestic tales. The fascinating facts about Louisa May Alcott that follow might surprise those who don’t know a lot about the woman behind Little Women.
From her teen years on, Alcott was determined to make a living as a writer. She became her family’s primary breadwinner at a young age, mostly by writing and selling anonymous thrillers, or what she called “blood and thunder” tales.
And from there her writing life unfolded, often in unexpected ways. She was a complex woman whose views were reflected in her literary output. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On August 25, 2019 | Updated June 30, 2023 | Comments (11)
It would be easy enough to compile fascinating facts about the Brontë sisters each in her own right, but here we’ll look at the three together, since their lives were so intertwined.
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, acknowledged literary geniuses, were close in age and with few exceptions, preferred one another’s company above anyone else’s.
The three Brontë sisters all cherished literary ambitions from an early age, and despite lives that were cut short by illness, secured a prominent place in the English literary canon. Read More→
By Skyler Gomez | On August 24, 2019 | Updated March 31, 2026 | Comments (8)
Toni Morrison, born Chloe Ardelia Wofford (1931 – 2019), was an American novelist, editor, essayist, and professor. Presented here are fascinating facts about Toni Morrison that offer a glimpse of what made her one of the most the powerfu voices in contemporary literature.
Morrison was born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, in a working-class family that inspired her love for Black culture.
Her work focused on the Black American experience. Notable works include The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1974), Song of Solomon (1977), Tar Baby (1981), and Beloved (1987). She received an abundance of awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature (1993), the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and many others. Read More→
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