Mary Daniels Brown

My mother always insisted that, as soon as I was old enough to sit up, she’d find me in my crib after my nap babbling away, with a Little Golden Book on my lap. I’ve had my nose in a book ever since. I grew up in a small town, with the tiny town library literally in my backyard. As an only child in an unhappy home, I found comfort and companionship in books. As an adult I wanted to be Harry Potter, although I admit I’m more Hermione. My life has been a series of research projects. Reading has taught me that human lives are deliciously messy and that “it’s complicated” isn’t a punchline.

Letters of Note: Come on now Marlon, put up your dukes and write!

Letters of Note: Come on now Marlon, put up your dukes and write! Late-1957, with his newly released novel attracting near-universal praise from critics, Beat author Jack Kerouac aimed for the sky and wrote the following passionate letter to Marlon Brando in an effort to bring his work to the big screen. The novel in […]

Letters of Note: Come on now Marlon, put up your dukes and write! Read More »

Monday Miscellany

“Ghost Stories”: The ubiquitous anti-feminism of young adult romances In a Guardian article last November, Tanya Gold condemned the Twilight franchise and the paranormal progeny it has spawned, calling them sado-masochistic “disempowerment fantasies” masquerading as fairy tales, normalising abuse in the name of risqué romance. But her argument – though apt – hardly goes far

Monday Miscellany Read More »

Celebrate International Women’s Day

Today is International Women’s Day. And here, once again courtesy of the folks at The Scout Report, are some informative sites. WomenWatch: UN Information and Resources on Gender Equality and Empowerment The WomenWatch website is dedicated to providing “information and resources on gender equality and empowerment of women.” It is an initiative of the United

Celebrate International Women’s Day Read More »

Monday Miscellany: Women’s History Month Edition

March is Women’s History Month. And The Scout Report has kindly collected a list of pertinent resources. If you haven’t yet checked out The Scout Report, I highly encourage you to do it. It’s a source you can trust for information about valuable internet resources on lots of topics. And now, here’s the good stuff.

Monday Miscellany: Women’s History Month Edition Read More »

Ben Fountain Wins National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction – GalleyCat

Ben Fountain Wins National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction – GalleyCat The winners of the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards have been revealed. Ben Fountain won the fiction prize with Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and Andrew Solomon took nonfiction with Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity. Leanne

Ben Fountain Wins National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction – GalleyCat Read More »

Monday Miscellany

Amherst College: Emily Dickinson Collection To say Emily Dickinson has an association with Amherst College is a bit of an understatement. Her grandfather, Samuel Fowler Dickinson, was one of the founders of the college and her father, Edward Dickinson, was treasurer of the school for over 35 years. In 1956, Millicent Todd Bingham gave Amherst

Monday Miscellany Read More »

‘The Feminine Mystique,’ Reassessed after 50 Years – NYTimes.com

‘The Feminine Mystique,’ Reassessed after 50 Years – NYTimes.com. Here, on the anniversary of its publication, is yet another article about The Feminine Mystique.

‘The Feminine Mystique,’ Reassessed after 50 Years – NYTimes.com Read More »

Happy birthday, Toni Morrison

Happy birthday, Toni Morrison Read More »

I am a feminist and I’ve never read ‘The Feminine Mystique’ till now (Emily Bazelon, Slate) | syracuse.com

I am a feminist and I’ve never read ‘The Feminine Mystique’ till now (Emily Bazelon, Slate) | syracuse.com. Here’s another article that I missed when compiling today’s Monday Miscellany.

I am a feminist and I’ve never read ‘The Feminine Mystique’ till now (Emily Bazelon, Slate) | syracuse.com Read More »

Monday Miscellany

50 Years of The Feminine Mystique This week’s 50th anniversary of the publication of Betty Friedan’s ground-breaking work The Feminine Mystique has generated lots of commentary. Here’s a sampling. The Skeptical Early Reviews of Betty Friedan’s ‘The Feminine Mystique’ In truth, The Feminine Mystique‘s 50-year shelf life got off to a somewhat rocky start. While

Monday Miscellany Read More »

Scroll to Top