The assignment to research and write about a woman who is making a difference in feminism and women's equality was eagerly anticipated by myself. However, after choosing someone that I never heard of (Emi Koyama) and then after attempting to find out more about her, I realized hat I didn't get very far! There is minimal information about her or at least I didn't find the typical facts and bios one would after inquiring, especially after putting in her name up in the internet search site and then numerous websites showed up.
Here is what I did find out: First, there is no past biography for this still living activist. She (and I'm assuming she is a SHE) currently lives in Portland, Oregon and according to her own words located on her own website: www.eminism.org she is a "multi-issue social justice slut, syn hesizing feminist, Asian, survivor, dyke, queer, sex worker, intersex, genderqueer..." and crip political activist! Whoa, this person even goes on to say she "does not identify with any particular gender...." Now, having quoted her own words, that leads me to explain what she does and how she became known, which I guess may qualify her for being a contributing factor to feminism and women's equality, however, after reading all the information that she is disseminating, I believe she is more a human activist than anything else!
Emi Koyama currently is the director of the Intersex Initiative which is an Oregon based national activist and advocacy organization for people born with intersex conditions. Most of you won't know what are intersex conditions so let me define them: Using the text from the www.intersexinitiative.org website, it is the disorder of sex development (also know as DSD) which refers to a series of medical conditions in which a child's genetic sex (chromosomes) and phenotypic sex (genitalsdo not match or are somehow different from the 'standard' male or female. Before she began her organization, she worked for the Intersex Society of North America from 2001 - 2002 where she worked as an intern and then as a staff activist. She considers herself a third wave feminist who gives presentations to colleges and other organizations and to private groups as well.
I believe Emi Koyama has contributed to feminism in a very simple but dedicated way. She is being an independent activist who has lived through some of these experiences (she doesn't tell us which ones) and who creates website entries, does independent research and goes even farther by creating her own words that relate to the issue of intersex conditions and transgender issues, queers, etc. Her website www.eminism.org originated by her use of 'emi' - which is her name and adds it to the word feminism. She also is responsible for the 'whore revolution' which was created after responding to an anti-prostitution feminist. According to Koyama, "the whore revolution will fight violence and oppression at every level, including economic violence and the violence by the state or by international organizations, because violence and oppression diminish our options," from A Conversation with Dr. A: A Sex Work Activist Takes on An Academic Feminist.
I believe she opens doors for women and men in areas of sexual identification and orientation and more deeply through the DSD (devlopment of sexual disorders). She has opened dialogue and also shows various class, gender and ethnic groups the controversial issues of DSD or intersex, prostitution, oppression and transsexual, transgender and transfeminism problems.
Emi Koyama has already taught me something that I knew nothing about. I had never heard of intersex issues and variation of XX and Y chromsomes in people. The fact that 1 in 2000 people are born with a type of this condition (either visibly noticeable at birth OR later on in their life) was a real eye opener for me.
The following websites were use for obtaining this information:
www.intersexinitiative.org
www.eminism.org
www.isna.org
An interesting link about theoretical credibility rankings which ranked Emi Koyama's credibility as an 'organization/VIP/other with ONE star verses FIVE stars can be found at:
www.prostitutionprocon.org
Kim Seder
Women's Studies 200
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Alice Walker Blog 2
Alice Walker was a feminist writer born in
I have never heard of this woman, but I was very glad that I chose her. I have seen the movie story of her book, but never really knew the background behind it. It is amazing to see women doing great things and rising above their struggles. She was an inspiration to me and I’m sure many others.
Further studies:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Walker#Early_life
www.luminarium.org/contemporary/alicew
www.womenshistory.about.com/
bell hooks
bell hooks
by Aaron Ashba
bell hooks, the African-American, feminist and author was born on September 25th, 1952 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Her birth name is Gloria Jean Watkins under her parents Veodis and Rosa Bell Watkins. As a young girl, she knew she wanted to be a writer and set a goal to become one. After high school in 1973, hooks enrolled at Stanford University and obtained a B.A. in English. In 1976, she earned her master's degree in English from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Later, she became a teacher and served as an English professor and as a senior lecturer in ethnic studies at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles until 1979. She is still alive and well today. After several years of teaching and writing, she completed her doctorate from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1983. She is alive and well today.
In her eventful and productive life, her thoughts and written words have touched the lives of many women, especially in the Black community. Her books and articles have focused on the interconnectivity of race, class, and gender and their ability to produce overcome oppression and domination. In her career, hooks has published over thirty books and several articles. She has also appeared in several documentary films and participated in various public lectures with topics ranging from postmodern feminism, race, class and gender in education, art, history, sexuality and mass media. The name “bell hooks” was actually her pen name she took in the late 70s. While teaching at the University of Southern California, Golemics of Los Angeles released her first published work titled "And There We Wept" in 1978. Basically, the name was a combination of her mother and grandmother. She uses it only in lowercase. According to her, the name's unconventional lowercasing signifies what is most important in her works: the "substance of books, not who I am." Hooks has held positions as Professor of African and Afro-American Studies and English at Yale University, Distinguished Lecturer of English Literature at the City College of New York and Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and American Literature at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.
Along with teaching a several colleges and universities in the early 80s while in California, South End Press (Boston) published her first major work, “Ain’t I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism in 1981”. Decades after its publication, it has gained widespread recognition as an influential contribution to postmodern feminist thought. Ain’t I a Woman? opened the door to recurring topics she would discuss in her later work, such as the historical impact of sexism and racism on black women, devaluation of black womanhood, media roles and portrayal, the education system, the "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy", the marginalization of black women; and the disregard for issues of race and class within feminism. Since the publication of Ain’t I a Woman?, she became a strong liberal, postmodern political thinker and one of women's most cultural critic. Her voice attracts to many different topics and was able to use many various media outlets to spread her word. Besides her book publications and articles, she has provide many lectures and appears in various documentaries and news productions such as CSPAN. Hooks gave a controversial commencement speech in 2002 at Southwestern University. Rather than taking the congratulatory mode to the students, she spoke of government-sanctioned violence and oppression, causing a ruckus amongst students and parents, such to the tune of parents refusing to donate money to the university. Her work has been an example of not only her life experiences and personal views on the societal views or race, gender, culture and total harmony of its mutual existence, she has provided inspiration and a voice to all women to open their eyes to reality and also how to embrace the fact of womanly traits and intelligence. She has stood and faced patriarchy and overcome the challenges of those issues in her own life to inspire other women and people alike to do the same in a responsible way.
As part of our reading assignments this semester, we had to read "Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics" (2000), as this was my first introduction to bell hooks. Not knowing her prior to the reading gave me a , but now after her book and this assignment, I have enjoyed learning about her life and can respect her views and opinions she has so passionately expressed in many different outlets. As I move on toward obtaining another degree and facing challenges in life, I can appreciate everything hooks has accomplished with the utmost respect outside of her views on feminism.
References:
http://www.notablebiographies.com/
Aaron Ashba
Madame C.J.Walker (JamelaTemple)
Madame C.J. Walker
Birth: December 23, 1867
Death: May 25, 1919
Madame C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867. She had one sister and 4 brothers. When she was 7 yrs old, her parents died of Yellow Fever. She and her sister moved to Vicksgurg, Mississippi in 1878 where they took up employment as maids. She got married at the age of 14 to Moses McWilliams, and they had a daughter, A'Leila Walker. She got married two additional times, one ending with her being a widow and the other in divorce.
Madame C.J. Walker is known for inventing hair and scalp products for African-American women. She herself suffered from a scalp condition that made her hair fall out. She was criticized by others for trying to make African-American women's hair look more like that of a white woman's, but she said that her products were made to help African-American women hair grow and be healthy. Her hair products were sold all over the country. She had a beauty training school for two years in Pittsburgh called the Leile College for Walker Hair Culturists.She is known as the first African-American woman millionaire, and some think that she was the first woman millionaire.
She was an inspiration to women everywhere. She understood that women wanted to know how she became so successful, so while she lectured about her products, she also empowered women to start businesses. She was interested in empowering woman and showing/telling them that they could do what she was doing. One of her famous quotes were "I got myself a start by giving myself a start."
Madame C.J. Walker was also a Civil Rights advocate. After the East St. Louis riots in 1917, she committed herself to making lynching a federal crime. She was a keynote speaker at NAACP anti-lynching events. She donated large amounts of money to the NAACP lynching events and also, later on in her life, supported black schools, individuals, YWCA's, orphanages and more.
The only thing I knew about Madame C.J. Walker was that she invented the "perm" for black women. I didn't know that she was a civil rights activist and that she helped so many different organizations. I think that I can learn from her hard work and determination. She never gave up, and she was not "stingy" with her earnings or her time; she gave back and did her part to make sure that she helped people coming after her along.
There are many resources, books and websites devoted to Ms. Walker. She has a website www.madamecjwalker.com that gives her complete biography.
Birth: December 23, 1867
Death: May 25, 1919
Madame C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867. She had one sister and 4 brothers. When she was 7 yrs old, her parents died of Yellow Fever. She and her sister moved to Vicksgurg, Mississippi in 1878 where they took up employment as maids. She got married at the age of 14 to Moses McWilliams, and they had a daughter, A'Leila Walker. She got married two additional times, one ending with her being a widow and the other in divorce.
Madame C.J. Walker is known for inventing hair and scalp products for African-American women. She herself suffered from a scalp condition that made her hair fall out. She was criticized by others for trying to make African-American women's hair look more like that of a white woman's, but she said that her products were made to help African-American women hair grow and be healthy. Her hair products were sold all over the country. She had a beauty training school for two years in Pittsburgh called the Leile College for Walker Hair Culturists.She is known as the first African-American woman millionaire, and some think that she was the first woman millionaire.
She was an inspiration to women everywhere. She understood that women wanted to know how she became so successful, so while she lectured about her products, she also empowered women to start businesses. She was interested in empowering woman and showing/telling them that they could do what she was doing. One of her famous quotes were "I got myself a start by giving myself a start."
Madame C.J. Walker was also a Civil Rights advocate. After the East St. Louis riots in 1917, she committed herself to making lynching a federal crime. She was a keynote speaker at NAACP anti-lynching events. She donated large amounts of money to the NAACP lynching events and also, later on in her life, supported black schools, individuals, YWCA's, orphanages and more.
The only thing I knew about Madame C.J. Walker was that she invented the "perm" for black women. I didn't know that she was a civil rights activist and that she helped so many different organizations. I think that I can learn from her hard work and determination. She never gave up, and she was not "stingy" with her earnings or her time; she gave back and did her part to make sure that she helped people coming after her along.
There are many resources, books and websites devoted to Ms. Walker. She has a website www.madamecjwalker.com that gives her complete biography.
Blog #2 - Betty Friedan
Stevie R. Bowling
Blog #2 – Betty Friedan
February 22, 2008
Womens Studies 200
Professor Joelle Ryan
On February 4, 1921, Betty Naomi Friedan (Goldenburg) was born in Peoria, Illinois. She attended school there in town where she instantly became interested in writing columns for her school newspaper. After high school graduation in 1938, Friedan went on to attend Smith College (an all female university) to major in Psychology. She excelled academically to win scholarships and still continued to publish her poems and writing samples in the college publications which helped her work her way up to editior-in-chief of the Smith College newspaper. A few years later, Friedan graduated near the top of her class in 1942 and continued on to graduate school at the University of California at Berkely where she worked with re-knowned psychologist Erik Erikson, but later turned down the opportunity to receive her PhD and that was the end of her academic career. She married Carl Friedman in 1947, but later divorced in 1969. They had three children together. Betty Friedan passed away on her 85th birthday on February 4, 2006 due to congestive heart failure.
After leaving UC-Berkeley in 1944, Friedan went on to work as a journalist for a few different publications that included The Federated Press and the United Electric Workers – UE News. Friedan claims that she was fired from the UE News in 1952 because she was pregnant with her second child, but many claim that statement was untrue and it is still unclear to many why she was fired. Friedan left the UE News and became a free-lance writer for a handful of magazines that even included the popular women’s magazine Cosmopolitan. Friedan was very interested in hearing about the lives of women and if they were truly satisified with their current lives and their experiences.
In 1963 Friedan accomplished a huge goal when she published what many refer to as the “Second Wave” of Feminism titled The Feminine Mystique. Friedan wrote about the lives of those women who took on the homemaker role and feel trapped in their lives for they never take on the role of a working citizen who could also keep a family. She discussed many psychological theories of psychologists like Freud and offererd answers to those women who wanted to move on with their lives and get an education and a job while still tending to their family. Her book was a huge best seller and many give credit it to her book for sparking up the women’s movement.
Not only did Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique contribute to women’s rights and feminism, she also wrote books titled The Second Stage and The Fountain of Age which educated those on the issues that women face and their fight for equal rights and freedoms. Betty Friedan is credited for co-founding “NOW” the National Organization for Women and “NARAL” National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws for she was an advocate for legal abortion. Friedan was also a lead supporter of the lesbian community when she seconded the motion supporting lesbian rights at the Women’s Conference which Dr. Jocelynne A. Scutt described this as “a defining moment for the U.S. Women's Movement, for lesbian rights, and for Betty Friedan” (Wikipedia 1)
Betty Friedan contributed to feminism and the women’s rights in so many ways and made such a huge impact on those women who were struggling with the lives they were living. Not only did Friedan publish books that opened the eyes of feminists out there, she inspired so many with all of the different organizations she founded and worked for.
In high school, we researched the impact theat Friedan had on so many in my American government class senior year. We discussed feminism and those who stood out during the women’s movement and Friedan was one of them. After researching more on Friedan I am thankful for the differences that she has made in my life although I may not always realize it. With her guidance, so many women achieved great things which all have led up to the rights and freedoms that I have today at 20 years old.
Resources:
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Friedan
National Women’s Hall of Fame
http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=62
American Writers
http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/friedan.asp
Books written by Betty Friedan
The Feminine Mystique (1963)
It Changed My Life (1976)
The Second Stage (1981)
The Fountain of Age (1993)
Beyond Gender (1997)
Life So Far (2000)
Blog #2 – Betty Friedan
February 22, 2008
Womens Studies 200
Professor Joelle Ryan
On February 4, 1921, Betty Naomi Friedan (Goldenburg) was born in Peoria, Illinois. She attended school there in town where she instantly became interested in writing columns for her school newspaper. After high school graduation in 1938, Friedan went on to attend Smith College (an all female university) to major in Psychology. She excelled academically to win scholarships and still continued to publish her poems and writing samples in the college publications which helped her work her way up to editior-in-chief of the Smith College newspaper. A few years later, Friedan graduated near the top of her class in 1942 and continued on to graduate school at the University of California at Berkely where she worked with re-knowned psychologist Erik Erikson, but later turned down the opportunity to receive her PhD and that was the end of her academic career. She married Carl Friedman in 1947, but later divorced in 1969. They had three children together. Betty Friedan passed away on her 85th birthday on February 4, 2006 due to congestive heart failure.
After leaving UC-Berkeley in 1944, Friedan went on to work as a journalist for a few different publications that included The Federated Press and the United Electric Workers – UE News. Friedan claims that she was fired from the UE News in 1952 because she was pregnant with her second child, but many claim that statement was untrue and it is still unclear to many why she was fired. Friedan left the UE News and became a free-lance writer for a handful of magazines that even included the popular women’s magazine Cosmopolitan. Friedan was very interested in hearing about the lives of women and if they were truly satisified with their current lives and their experiences.
In 1963 Friedan accomplished a huge goal when she published what many refer to as the “Second Wave” of Feminism titled The Feminine Mystique. Friedan wrote about the lives of those women who took on the homemaker role and feel trapped in their lives for they never take on the role of a working citizen who could also keep a family. She discussed many psychological theories of psychologists like Freud and offererd answers to those women who wanted to move on with their lives and get an education and a job while still tending to their family. Her book was a huge best seller and many give credit it to her book for sparking up the women’s movement.
Not only did Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique contribute to women’s rights and feminism, she also wrote books titled The Second Stage and The Fountain of Age which educated those on the issues that women face and their fight for equal rights and freedoms. Betty Friedan is credited for co-founding “NOW” the National Organization for Women and “NARAL” National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws for she was an advocate for legal abortion. Friedan was also a lead supporter of the lesbian community when she seconded the motion supporting lesbian rights at the Women’s Conference which Dr. Jocelynne A. Scutt described this as “a defining moment for the U.S. Women's Movement, for lesbian rights, and for Betty Friedan” (Wikipedia 1)
Betty Friedan contributed to feminism and the women’s rights in so many ways and made such a huge impact on those women who were struggling with the lives they were living. Not only did Friedan publish books that opened the eyes of feminists out there, she inspired so many with all of the different organizations she founded and worked for.
In high school, we researched the impact theat Friedan had on so many in my American government class senior year. We discussed feminism and those who stood out during the women’s movement and Friedan was one of them. After researching more on Friedan I am thankful for the differences that she has made in my life although I may not always realize it. With her guidance, so many women achieved great things which all have led up to the rights and freedoms that I have today at 20 years old.
Resources:
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Friedan
National Women’s Hall of Fame
http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=62
American Writers
http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/friedan.asp
Books written by Betty Friedan
The Feminine Mystique (1963)
It Changed My Life (1976)
The Second Stage (1981)
The Fountain of Age (1993)
Beyond Gender (1997)
Life So Far (2000)
Helen Keller
Shayna Gray
Helen Keller was a deaf/blind American author, activist, and lecturer. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama on June 21st, 1880. She was not born deaf and blind, but when she was 19 months old she came down with an illness, which is known today as scarlet fever or meningitis, that left her unable to see and hear. Helen lived with her mother and father until 1887 when she met Anne Sullivan, a woman who helped change Helen’s bad behaviors, taught her sign language, how to read braille, and other basic skills. Helen became famous because she was promoted in articles as “a phenomenon”. In 1896, Keller attended Cambridge School for Young Ladies and then enrolled in Radcliffe College in 1900. She was the first deaf/blind person to enter into and graduate from a higher education. Upon graduation, she began to write books and travel the world to lecture and campaign for women’s suffrage, worker’s rights, and socialism. She also spent the remaining years of her life helping other deaf and blind individuals. On June 1, 1968, Helen Keller passed away in Arcan Ridge in Westport, Connecticut.
Helen Keller had many accomplishments throughout her life. She wrote books, lectured, inspired others, and campaigned for important issues. Some of her accomplishments include: learning to write, read and speak as a deaf/blind individual; graduation from Radcliffe College; worked for American Federation for the Blind; published “The Story of My Life in 1903; wrote a groundbreaking article for The Ladies’ Home Journal in 1907; published “The World I Live In” in 1908; published “Out of the Dark” in 1913; donated money to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1917; help found the American Civil Liberties Union in 1918; published “Midstream: My Later Life” in 1929; published “Teacher” in 1955; awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964; and was elected into the Women’s Hall of Fame in 1965.
Helen Keller also contributed to feminism and eradicated oppression and discrimination in many ways. In 1909, she became a socialist and suffragist and traveled the world campaigning for women’s suffrage. In 1912, she publicly spoke out in favor of birth control and following in 1914, she confirmed with Women’s Peace Party for peace in Europe. She also campaigned for worker’s rights and in 1916 supported the Industrial Workers of the World. To fight against discrimination, she fought for freedom of speech with the American Civil Liberties Union, which she helped find. I think she helped open doors for other women because she was a women, despite her handicaps, who fought for what she wanted and knew others deserved. Her courage and determination helped and can continue to help inspire other woman around the world to do the same.
I first heard of Helen Keller in grade school. We read her first book “The Story of My Life” in 5th grade for English. I remember after reading the book, I was inspired by her success as both a woman and a deaf/blind individual, and later did research for other classes in middle school and high school. I believe she has contributed to teaching me that anything is possible if you are willing to work hard despite any obstacles you may run into. I have also realized how lucky I am to have the ability to see and hear. I think many people, especially myself, take little things such as vision and hearing for granted. And to hear a story like Helen Keller’s, makes me appreciate these things even more. I think the story of Helen Keller can help contribute to my success just because its inspiring and encourages me to work harder for what I want regardless of what people tell me and regardless of any obstacles that may cross my path.
Resources for further study:
Books/Articles
“The Story of My Life” by Helen Keller
“Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy” by Joseph Lash
“Helen Keller, Prodigy” by Edward Wagenknecht
“Notable Women in American History” by Lynda Adamson
Films
Deliverance (1919)
The Miracle Worker (1962)
Websites
www.wikipedia.org
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_keller.hcsp
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001091.shtml
http://thefci.syr.edu/6-4she.htm
Helen Keller was a deaf/blind American author, activist, and lecturer. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama on June 21st, 1880. She was not born deaf and blind, but when she was 19 months old she came down with an illness, which is known today as scarlet fever or meningitis, that left her unable to see and hear. Helen lived with her mother and father until 1887 when she met Anne Sullivan, a woman who helped change Helen’s bad behaviors, taught her sign language, how to read braille, and other basic skills. Helen became famous because she was promoted in articles as “a phenomenon”. In 1896, Keller attended Cambridge School for Young Ladies and then enrolled in Radcliffe College in 1900. She was the first deaf/blind person to enter into and graduate from a higher education. Upon graduation, she began to write books and travel the world to lecture and campaign for women’s suffrage, worker’s rights, and socialism. She also spent the remaining years of her life helping other deaf and blind individuals. On June 1, 1968, Helen Keller passed away in Arcan Ridge in Westport, Connecticut.
Helen Keller had many accomplishments throughout her life. She wrote books, lectured, inspired others, and campaigned for important issues. Some of her accomplishments include: learning to write, read and speak as a deaf/blind individual; graduation from Radcliffe College; worked for American Federation for the Blind; published “The Story of My Life in 1903; wrote a groundbreaking article for The Ladies’ Home Journal in 1907; published “The World I Live In” in 1908; published “Out of the Dark” in 1913; donated money to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1917; help found the American Civil Liberties Union in 1918; published “Midstream: My Later Life” in 1929; published “Teacher” in 1955; awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964; and was elected into the Women’s Hall of Fame in 1965.
Helen Keller also contributed to feminism and eradicated oppression and discrimination in many ways. In 1909, she became a socialist and suffragist and traveled the world campaigning for women’s suffrage. In 1912, she publicly spoke out in favor of birth control and following in 1914, she confirmed with Women’s Peace Party for peace in Europe. She also campaigned for worker’s rights and in 1916 supported the Industrial Workers of the World. To fight against discrimination, she fought for freedom of speech with the American Civil Liberties Union, which she helped find. I think she helped open doors for other women because she was a women, despite her handicaps, who fought for what she wanted and knew others deserved. Her courage and determination helped and can continue to help inspire other woman around the world to do the same.
I first heard of Helen Keller in grade school. We read her first book “The Story of My Life” in 5th grade for English. I remember after reading the book, I was inspired by her success as both a woman and a deaf/blind individual, and later did research for other classes in middle school and high school. I believe she has contributed to teaching me that anything is possible if you are willing to work hard despite any obstacles you may run into. I have also realized how lucky I am to have the ability to see and hear. I think many people, especially myself, take little things such as vision and hearing for granted. And to hear a story like Helen Keller’s, makes me appreciate these things even more. I think the story of Helen Keller can help contribute to my success just because its inspiring and encourages me to work harder for what I want regardless of what people tell me and regardless of any obstacles that may cross my path.
Resources for further study:
Books/Articles
“The Story of My Life” by Helen Keller
“Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy” by Joseph Lash
“Helen Keller, Prodigy” by Edward Wagenknecht
“Notable Women in American History” by Lynda Adamson
Films
Deliverance (1919)
The Miracle Worker (1962)
Websites
www.wikipedia.org
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_keller.hcsp
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001091.shtml
http://thefci.syr.edu/6-4she.htm
Audre Lorde
Jennifer McKenna
Born Audrey Geraldine Lorde (though she later dropped the “y” in her first name) on February 18th, 1934, Lorde was the daughter of West Indian immigrants from Granada. She grew up in Harlem, although she recalled her parents’ frequent desire to return to their native Caribbean. She did not speak until she was five years old; afterward, she remembers speaking in poetry. She found written poems around the age of twelve, but was unable to find ones that expressed how she felt, prompting her to write her own. Her parents did not encourage her in her writing, but Lorde had her first poem published when she was fifteen. The poem, written about her first love affair with a boy who attended the Roman Catholic high school with her, was deemed by her teacher “too romantic”. When the school refused to print it in its literary journal, Lorde sent it to Seventeen magazine.
After high school, Lorde went to Hunter College, where she would later hold the renowned post of Thomas Hunter Chair of Literature. She supported herself with low-paying jobs. She eventually continued her education at Columbia University, earning her master’s degree in library science. Lorde worked as a librarian while honing her poetry and married attorney Edward Ashley Rollins. The couple was married for eight years and had two children, Elizabeth and Jonathon. In 1968, what Lorde termed the turning point of her life, she quit her job as head librarian at the University of New York and accepted the position of poet-in-residence at Tougaloo College in Jacksonville, Mississippi. Here she was able to see the violent response to the civil rights movement, which inspired her dedication to use her artistic talents to seek social justice. Here also she met her lifelong companion, Frances Clayton. Later that year her first book of poetry, The First Cities, was published. Lorde would go on to write more than twelve volumes on poetry and six books of prose.
Lorde described herself as “Black lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”. Though not all of her work was political in nature, she opened doors for many women, co-founding the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, establishing coalitions between Afro-German and Afro-Dutch women, beginning the St Croix Women’s Coalition, and forming the Sisterhood in Support of Sister in South Africa. She campaigned for the rights of black women, the value of black culture, and the advancement of the gay and lesbian movement, working as editor of Chrysalis, the lesbian journal. She died on November 17th, 1992, after a long battle with breast cancer.
Although I had never before heard of her, Lorde was the recipient of several awards and accolades. She was New York State’s Poet Laureate and received a great deal of recognition for her literary accomplishments, including the 1974 National Book Award nomination. Her commitment to the causes she believed in and her insistence on being true to herself, even at a time when a black lesbian was not accepted.
Audre Lorde resources:
www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/Bahri/RYAN.HTML
www.lambda.net/~maximum/lorde.html
http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/lorde_audre.html
http://www.uic.edu/depts/quic/history/audre_lorde.html
Memoirs: “Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” and “The Cancer Journals”
Award-winning book: “A Burst of Light”
Movie: “A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde”
Jennifer McKenna
Born Audrey Geraldine Lorde (though she later dropped the “y” in her first name) on February 18th, 1934, Lorde was the daughter of West Indian immigrants from Granada. She grew up in Harlem, although she recalled her parents’ frequent desire to return to their native Caribbean. She did not speak until she was five years old; afterward, she remembers speaking in poetry. She found written poems around the age of twelve, but was unable to find ones that expressed how she felt, prompting her to write her own. Her parents did not encourage her in her writing, but Lorde had her first poem published when she was fifteen. The poem, written about her first love affair with a boy who attended the Roman Catholic high school with her, was deemed by her teacher “too romantic”. When the school refused to print it in its literary journal, Lorde sent it to Seventeen magazine.
After high school, Lorde went to Hunter College, where she would later hold the renowned post of Thomas Hunter Chair of Literature. She supported herself with low-paying jobs. She eventually continued her education at Columbia University, earning her master’s degree in library science. Lorde worked as a librarian while honing her poetry and married attorney Edward Ashley Rollins. The couple was married for eight years and had two children, Elizabeth and Jonathon. In 1968, what Lorde termed the turning point of her life, she quit her job as head librarian at the University of New York and accepted the position of poet-in-residence at Tougaloo College in Jacksonville, Mississippi. Here she was able to see the violent response to the civil rights movement, which inspired her dedication to use her artistic talents to seek social justice. Here also she met her lifelong companion, Frances Clayton. Later that year her first book of poetry, The First Cities, was published. Lorde would go on to write more than twelve volumes on poetry and six books of prose.
Lorde described herself as “Black lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”. Though not all of her work was political in nature, she opened doors for many women, co-founding the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, establishing coalitions between Afro-German and Afro-Dutch women, beginning the St Croix Women’s Coalition, and forming the Sisterhood in Support of Sister in South Africa. She campaigned for the rights of black women, the value of black culture, and the advancement of the gay and lesbian movement, working as editor of Chrysalis, the lesbian journal. She died on November 17th, 1992, after a long battle with breast cancer.
Although I had never before heard of her, Lorde was the recipient of several awards and accolades. She was New York State’s Poet Laureate and received a great deal of recognition for her literary accomplishments, including the 1974 National Book Award nomination. Her commitment to the causes she believed in and her insistence on being true to herself, even at a time when a black lesbian was not accepted.
Audre Lorde resources:
www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/Bahri/RYAN.HTML
www.lambda.net/~maximum/lorde.html
http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/lorde_audre.html
http://www.uic.edu/depts/quic/history/audre_lorde.html
Memoirs: “Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” and “The Cancer Journals”
Award-winning book: “A Burst of Light”
Movie: “A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde”
Jennifer McKenna
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