Writing Red: An Anthology of American Women Writers, 1930-1940

by Charlotte Nekola (Editor), Toni Morrison (Foreword), Paula Rabinowitz (Editor)

This comprehensive collection of fiction, poetry, and reportage by revolutionary women of the 1930s lays to rest the charge that feminism disappeared after 1920. Among the thirty-six writers are Muriel Rukeyser, Margaret Walker, Josephine Herbst, Tillie Olsen, Tess Slesinger, Agnes Smedley, and Meridel Le Sueur. Other voices may be new to readers, including many working-class black and white women. The topics range from sexuality and family relationships to race, class, and patriarchy to party politics. Toni Morrison writes that the anthology is “peopled with questioning, caring, socially committed women writers.”

Genres: Poetry, Short Stories, Nonfiction, Feminism, Essays, Literature, Classics

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 1987

Reviews

[Alwynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing Red delves into a neglected area of American women’s writing, the radical fiction, poetry and journalism of the 1930s, the output of a generation immersed in exploring issues around race, gender, class and international relations. Edited by Charlotte Nekola and Paula Rabinowitz, the collection grew out of a dedicated research project conducted in the 1980s and supported by writers and academics, including Toni Morrison who also wrote the foreword. The authors covered include some who’ve slowly gained recognition, Tillie Olsen, Josephine Herbst, Agnes Smedley, Tess Slesinger, Muriel Rukeyser, Marita Bonner; and others who remain relatively obscure Edith Manuel Durham, Ella Winterman, Joy Davidman. Entries include: reports from Cuba and China; accounts of factory strikes; workers' anthems; stories of poverty, exploitation, inequality and the power of corporations, racism and passing but also of women striking for better working conditions, resistance and hope for a different future. Some entries are rather melodramatic or. like Agnes Smedley’s, politically naïve but others still pack a punch: stand-outs were Leanne Zugsmith’s and Ruth McKenney’s vivid accounts of life for families on the breadline, Meridel LeSueur’s first-person narrative of a young girl forcibly sterilised. A meticulously-edited, fascinating slice of social, cultural and political history enhanced by the addition of comprehensive introductions for each section which outline the historical context for chosen work, as well as the backgrounds of featured writers.

Thanks to Edelweiss and publisher Haymarket Books for an ARC

Rating: 3/3.5