The Oxford Book of Women's Writing in the United States

"A generous survey of American women's voices that is as remarkable for its quality as it is for its breadth....As textbook, reference work, or cover-to-cover recreational reading, this collection is an outstanding editorial achievement."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Editors Wagner-Martin and Davidson pay tribute to the vibrant variety of American women's lives and writing in this meandering and happily idiosyncratic anthology....a wonderful spectrum."--Booklist "This anthology not only provides a comprehensive selection of creative and imaginative works by women but also a wonderful collection of letters, autobiographies, memoirs as well as political essays and speeches. Such diversity provides students with a greater understanding of the women's movement."--Rebecca K. Webb, Illinois State University "[This collection] includes 771 encyclopedia entries ranging from short biographies to long essays on African-American writing and contemporary women's poetry. The appendixes provide time lines for women's social history and U.S. women's writing, and the index is extensive....The broad scope of the book makes it useful to more than just students of women's literature."--Choice "A sumptuous selection of short fiction and poetry....[The] invitation to share the passion of women's voices characterizes the entire volume."--Steven G. Kellman, USA Today "What an extraordinary collection! The editors have compiled a rich selection of powerful texts in a wide variety of genres and have organized them with such imagination that the book is both a sourcebook for exploring the cultural history of women's experience in the U.S. and a remarkably compact, yet quite comprehensive, literary survey. It belongs on every reader's bookshelf."--Emory Elliott, University of California, Riverside "There is no more exciting collection of women's writing in the United State than this one--a panoply of delights that I can't wait to teach from. The selections (from modern and classic women writers) show the rich complexity of women at work in every form, from recipes and erotica through political treatises and performance peices. Now, one can imagine a course in women's writing that will capture students' imaginations, and that will appeal to their bodies, stomachs, souls, and minds."--Louise DeSalvo, Hunter College "A superb collection representing the full range of American women's writing over four centuries--and a great read besides. Particularly valuable are the new conceptual categories the editors introduce, which promote fresh approaches to both familiar and unfamiliar examples of women's writing."--Carolyn L. Karcher, Temple University "This is the best source for teaching the continuum of writing by women that I know of. The Oxford Book of Women's Writing in the United States will change the canon of American literature. Watch out Hemingway. Make way, Faulkner. There is another range of voice to be heard."--E.M. Broner, author A Weave of Women, The Telling, and Mornings and Mourning "A lush collection! Each selection obviously reflects a caring and thoughtful decision that respects and celebrates the craft and event of women's writing in the United States. Wagner-Martin and Davidson have made insistent and clear the impressive breadth of women's writing--as well the elegant diversity of women who write. This is surely a volume to treasure and teach."--Karla F.C. Holloway, author Codes of Conduct: Race, Ethics, and the Color of Our Character "A masterly and comprehensive anthology giving context to the long battle for the vote--and for women's continuing struggle in the years since." --Library Journal "Offers a sumptuous selection of short fiction and poetry....Its invitation to share the passion of women's voices characterizes the entire volume."--USA Today "A generous survey of American women's voices that is as remarkable for its quality as it is for its breadth....As textbook, reference work, or cover-to-cover recreational reading, this collection is an outstanding editorial achievement."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Editors Wagner-Martin and Davidson pay tribute to the vibrant variety of American women's lives and writing in this meandering and happily idiosyncratic anthology....They've created a wonderful spectrum that stretches from Edith Wharton to Toni Morrison, Emily Dickinson to Adrienne Rich, Emma Goldman to Anna Quindlen, Louisa May Alcott to Laurie Anderson."--Booklist "The editors offer a broad range that includes well-known Anglo writers as well as a handful of ethnic writers. It's this kind of balance that makes turning each page a joy. Whether you are discovering Helena Maria Viramontes or rediscovering Edith Wharton, it's a gem you can't put down....The editors have succeeded in bringing cohesion to a rich history of women's writing in the United States."--Copley News Service