Ladies Laughing: Wit as Control in Contemporary American Women Writers

by Barbara Levy

Overview

This engaging and accessible book examines the world of seven contemporary, popular American women writers and their individual use of wit as a subtle and effective strategy to engage, or "control", the reader. A chapter is devoted to each of the seven writers - Lisa Alther, Rita Mae Brown, Nora Ephron, Shirley Jackson, Alison Lurier, Grace Paley, and Anne Tyler - and discusses their writings and their use of wit in the context of their lives. An opening chapter frames wit and control in psychological realities, and a concluding chapter summarizes the power of wit. A bibliography of the writers' works is also included, making this an ideal introduction and companion to these writers and their works.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134385935
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/13/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	194
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Barbara Levy

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Forerunners: Dorothy Parker, Dawn Powell, Betty MacDonald; Chapter 3 Nora Ephron: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Control…. (But feared you’d appear too manipulative if you asked); Chapter 4 Shirley Jackson: “In the country of the story, the writer is King.”; Chapter 5 Alison Lurie: “Writing was a Kind of Witch’s Spell”; Chapter 6 Grace Paley: The Ear is Smarter than the Eye; Chapter 7 Anne Tyler: Seeing Through a “Mist of Irony”; Chapter 8 Lisa Alther: Playing for the Laugh: Comic Control in Kinflicks; Chapter 9 Rita Mae Brown: “An Equal Opportunity Offender”; Chapter 10 Conclusion: What Wit Controlled;