University of Kentucky
An Evaluation of Feminist Authors and Their Critics
Institution
University of Kentucky
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Sonya Jones
Abstract
The expansion of the feminist movement in literature has significantly impacted society. My interest in the lives and literature of women authors and the resulting opinions of feminist literary critics stems from the struggles endured by these women. Sallie Bingham is an accomplished writer who has not been regularly reviewed by the national media. My research allowed me to formulate a conclusion as to why this remarkable author has received such inconsistent reviews. I am in the process of reading and analyzing several of Ms. Bingham's works including Winter Term, After Such Knowledge, Passion and Prejudice, and Red Car and will continue with a search of corresponding commentaries in order to learn more about this incredible woman and her impact on feminist literature. My mentor, Dr. Sonya Jones, has been engaged in an ongoing correspondence with Ms. Bingham and has had several interviews with her in person, and I anticipate the possibility of conducting an exclusive personal interview with her as well. The second part of my project entailed a systematic documentation of women authors mentioned and critiqued within the New York Review of Books. I cataloged the reviews, documented the number of women authors, and summarized the content and opinion indicated within each review. The results included a comparison between the number of female and male authors and an analysis describing the nature of the reviews for each gender.
An Evaluation of Feminist Authors and Their Critics
The expansion of the feminist movement in literature has significantly impacted society. My interest in the lives and literature of women authors and the resulting opinions of feminist literary critics stems from the struggles endured by these women. Sallie Bingham is an accomplished writer who has not been regularly reviewed by the national media. My research allowed me to formulate a conclusion as to why this remarkable author has received such inconsistent reviews. I am in the process of reading and analyzing several of Ms. Bingham's works including Winter Term, After Such Knowledge, Passion and Prejudice, and Red Car and will continue with a search of corresponding commentaries in order to learn more about this incredible woman and her impact on feminist literature. My mentor, Dr. Sonya Jones, has been engaged in an ongoing correspondence with Ms. Bingham and has had several interviews with her in person, and I anticipate the possibility of conducting an exclusive personal interview with her as well. The second part of my project entailed a systematic documentation of women authors mentioned and critiqued within the New York Review of Books. I cataloged the reviews, documented the number of women authors, and summarized the content and opinion indicated within each review. The results included a comparison between the number of female and male authors and an analysis describing the nature of the reviews for each gender.