By Sarah McCoy | On October 23, 2018 | Updated February 27, 2023 | Comments (0)
Sarah McCoy, author of Marilla of Green Gables (2018) explores the formidable yet loving Marilla Cuthbert (who raises the irrepressible orphan Anne Shirley, better known as Anne of Green Gables) in this meditation on family, community, and character:
It’s clear from the first chapter of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s acclaimed Anne of Green Gables who is in charge: Marilla Cuthbert. My mother first read this novel to me, and I didn’t bat an eyelash at the clear delineation of matriarchal power. Read More→
By Melanie P. Kumar | On October 15, 2018 | Updated November 13, 2023 | Comments (3)
The most fascinating part of this exploration of classic Indian women authors is that their writings reflected a feminist bent.
Given the strong patriarchal culture that still prevails in India and the fact that most of these women started their creative lives in the mid-twentieth century, one can only marvel at the courage and strength of their writings.
Since India has twenty-two recognized languages, this compilation is by no means comprehensive. For the sake of convenience, the authors have been listed in chronological order of their birth years. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On September 24, 2018 | Updated January 22, 2026 | Comments (6)
Colette (1873 – 1954), the French author (born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette) was as known for her writing as for her scandalous love life in the course of her prolific career.
Rejecting society’s rules for female expression and sexuality, she overcame notoriety to be regarded as one of the most treasured authors in the canon of French literature. Colette was no angel and certainly had her flaws in a full life of great accomplishment as well as of scandal. Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On September 13, 2018 | Updated July 27, 2025 | Comments (7)
How many of us have read and re-read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? It’s one of those books that can be revisited at various stages in life and appreciated from a different perspective each time.
After years of aspiring to be a successful novelist (she had already achieved a measure of success as a playwright), Betty Smith struck literary gold, drawing on her own experience as the child of immigrants at the turn of the twentieth century.
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By Taylor Jasmine | On August 31, 2018 | Updated February 9, 2024 | Comments (1)
Sylvia Plath’s meteoric posthumous rise as a pre-eminent American poet has eclipsed the fact that she was a talented artist as well. When she initially enrolled at Smith College, her first choice of major was studio art. After discovering her talent for writing, her professors encouraged her to major in English instead.
It took a long time for her visual art to come to light. The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery mounted a retrospective of her work in 2017, fifty-four years after her death.
A few of the works were self-portraits, including the one at right, and the first one, below. She also enjoyed making collages that were playful and satiric. Read More→
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