A Group of Their Own: College Writing Courses and American Women Writers, 1880-1940

by Katherine H. Adams

Overview

A fascinating story of the first generations of women who went to college to learn to be writers and then launched their careers writing poetry and prose.

A Group of Their Own is the fascinating story of the first generations of women who went to college to learn to be writers and then launched their careers writing poetry and prose. This unprecedented group included Elizabeth Bishop, Ruby Black, Pearl Buck, Emma Bugbee, Willa Cather, Zona Gale, Mildred Gilman, Zora Neale Hurston, Mary McCarthy, Marianne Moore, Eudora Welty, and Margaret Walker.

This group was all about firsts. These women were among the first to attend college where they took a new array of writing classes in which students worked together in a workshop environment and extended this model of collaboration to campus clubs and publications. When they left college, they continued their new working methods by initiating and joining in a variety of activities such as mentorships, clubs, community theaters, and summer writing workshops. This expanded experience enabled them to move outside the restricted definitions of women's career paths and writing projects, ultimately changing the definition of American writer and American writing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791490815
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	02/22/2001
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	251
File size:	409 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Katherine H. Adams is the Audrey and William Hutchinson Professor of English at Loyola University. She is the author of a number of books, including A History of Professional Writing Instruction in American Colleges: Years of Acceptance, Growth, and Doubt; Progressive Politics and the Training of America's Persuaders; and (with Michael L. Keene) Research and Writing Across the Disciplines and Easy Access: The Reference Handbook for Writers, Second Edition.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments


Introduction


Chapter One
BEFORE 1880, THROUGH EXCUSES ONLY


Chapter Two
THE COLLEGE LITERATURE AND WRITING CLASS


Chapter Three
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS


Chapter Four
A WRITING CAREER AS SUBJECT


Chapter Five
CONTINUING THE GROUPS


Chapter Six
REDEFINITIONS OF WOMEN WRITERS


Conclusion


Works Cited


Index

Editorial Reviews

Katherine H. Adams is the Audrey and William Hutchinson Professor of English at Loyola University. She is the author of a number of books, including A History of Professional Writing Instruction in American Colleges: Years of Acceptance, Growth, and Doubt; Progressive Politics and the Training of America's Persuaders; and (with Michael L. Keene) Research and Writing Across the Disciplines and Easy Access: The Reference Handbook for Writers, Second Edition.

From the Publisher

Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir had argued that women's lack of access to literary training and support handicapped them as intellectuals in the public sphere. Adams (English, Loyola U.) chronicles the story of the first generation of US women who went to college toward careers as writers. Such notables as Pearl Buck, Willa Cather, Zora Neale Hurston, Mary McCarthy, Marianne Moore, and Eudora Welty (some pictured) formed their own groups, edited college papers, redefined women as writers, and innovated writing. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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