By Taylor Jasmine | On December 5, 2017 | Updated May 9, 2023 | Comments (1)
Contributed by James Gaynor, author of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in 61 Haiku (1,037 Syllables!): In my last post on this site, I shared three things I learned writing Pride and Prejudice in 61 Haiku (1,037 Syllables!) Shortly after that appeared, I was invited to Fordham University to talk to English Literature majors about my take on the poetry / intent of the 61 chapter-opening lines of Pride and & Prejudice.
I found the students particularly responded to my point about Austen’s use of “flutter” in the first line of Chapter 43. Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On November 23, 2017 | Updated September 14, 2026 | Comments (2)
Lillian Hellman, the legendary American playwright, was romantically involved with Dashiell Hammett for thirty years, though they never married. Hammett, a hard-drinking former detective, was best known for the classic detective novels, The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon. Both writers were politically active, complex personalities.
Though there’s no doubt about the trajectory of their relationship, Hellman’s memories of how things were, like many of her other memoirs, have always been taken with a grain of salt. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On November 18, 2017 | Updated February 22, 2022 | Comments (0)
Lillian Hellman, the legendary American playwright, met Dorothy Parker, known for her brittle poetry and acid wit, in 1931. Hellman, not yet famous, was with her longtime partner Dashiell Hammett at a New York party when Parker approached the couple, fell to her knees, and kissed Hammett’s hand.
The scene made the couple uncomfortable, and Hellman never imagined she’d want to see Parker again, let alone befriend her. But when the two women met four years later, they clicked and became lifelong friends.
Here, in Hellman’s own words from her 1969 memoir An Unfinished Woman, some observations about her friend Dorothy Parker: Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On November 11, 2017 | Updated January 1, 2023 | Comments (3)
If you’ve read Margaret Mitchell’s 1,000-plus page magnum opus multiple times but can’t enough of it, consider exploring these prequels and sequels to Gone With the Wind. They expand on the stories of the complicated characters who have gripped the imagination for decades, ever since the book was first published in 1936.
GWTW had already been made a selection of Book of the Month Club, when it burst on the scene and advance sales were remarkable for a first novel by such an unknown author, particularly for a book of this length.
The U.S. was still gripped by the Great Depression, and the public evidently needed some diversion. It’s hard to argue that the book was an instant publishing phenomenon.
Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On November 8, 2017 | Updated September 26, 2025 | Comments (13)
How many of these classic children’s books by women authors have you read? Which did you miss reading? Which should I have included in the top 10? (Make sure to see the runners-up list at the end.)
Some of the books listed here were written for all ages, but have been adopted by younger readers as favorites.
Not long ago, when the latest film adaptation came out, my book group read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. About half had never read it; the other half hadn’t picked the book up since adolescence.
While Alcott reluctantly wrote it when urged to pen a “girls’ story” by her publisher, Little Women far exceeded their expectations. It has been beloved by generations of readers of all ages ever since it came out in 1868.. Read More→
Categories: 
Comments: