The Challenge of Feminist Biography: Writing the Lives of Modern American Women

by Sara Alpern (Editor), Joyce Antler (Editor), Elisabeth I. Perry (Editor)

This pathbreaking anthology is an illuminating look at the lives of ten influential twentieth-century American women and at the challenges experienced by the women who have written about them. Exploring the frequently complicated dialogue between writer and subject, the contributors uncover tools appropriate to writing women's biography and reveal, in often riveting accounts, how feminist scholarship led them to approach women's lives in unconventional ways. "This wonderful collection demonstrates the significance of women's biography as a central part of feminist scholarship. The feminist biographer inserts a second life into a biography, her own, giving us yet another layer of depth and insight." - Ann J. Lane, author of To "Herland" and The Life and Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found out about this book from a Bookstagrammer Sara (agradstudentreadsforfun) and thought I would check it out myself. I thought this was an average collection. I think it was an interesting take to discuss the challenge of writing feminist biographies, but I had higher expectations. I think there needed to be a better transition of discussing the figure in general and then the personal connection to the author. It would have also been nice to have had advice in general on how to construct a feminist biography.