Grace Paley's Life Stories: A Literary Biography

Is Faith Darwin Asbury really Grace Paley? Or is it coincidental that the personal history, politics, and relationships of the fictional Asbury seem to mirror those of the well-known author? And do other characters in Paley's stories represent individuals she has known, in scenes and entire episodes she has experienced? A writer who translates her life into art not only "saves" her own life, according to Paley, but offers others the revelation of its meaning. That idea is at the core of Judith Arcana's biographical reading of this strongly autobiographical writer. Grace Paley's Life Stories interweaves details about Paley with critical discussions of her works, examining her as a woman, mother, activist, and Jew. Arcana visited and interviewed Paley at her homes in Vermont and New York over a period of several years. She also interviewed Paley's family, friends, and colleagues. Such extensive research is unmatched in Paley scholarship; Arcana's focus on the political crucible of Paley's consciousness is rare in contemporary literary criticism.

Grace Paley's Life Stories: A LITERARY BIOGRAPHY

Literature & Fiction

Arcana, Judith

United States

University of Illinois Press

Is Faith Darwin Asbury really Grace Paley? Or is it coincidental that the personal history, politics, and relationships of the fictional Asbury seem to mirror those of the well-known author? And do other characters in Paley's stories represent individuals she has known, in scenes and entire episodes she has experienced? A writer who translates her life into art not only "saves" her own life, according to Paley, but offers others the revelation of its meaning. That idea is at the core of Judith Arcana's biographical reading of this strongly autobiographical writer. Grace Paley's Life Stories interweaves details about Paley with critical discussions of her works, examining her as a woman, mother, activist, and Jew. Arcana visited and interviewed Paley at her homes in Vermont and New York over a period of several years. She also interviewed Paley's family, friends, and colleagues. Such extensive research is unmatched in Paley scholarship; Arcana's focus on the political crucible of Paley's consciousness is rare in contemporary literary criticism.

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Every mother's son

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

AnchorPress/Doubleday

Every Mother's Son: Role of Mothers in the Making of Men

WOMENS PRESS LTD,THE

Describes the "stormiest love affairs: the one all daughters have with their mothers..." Uses interviews to understand the various problems involved between the two.

Our Mothers' Daughters

Womens Pr Ltd

Every Mother's Son: The Role of Mothers in the Making of Men

Self-Help

Seal Press

The story is a powerful story of one woman's work with Jane, Chicago's pre-Roe underground abortion service. It explores the nuance of how we remember and the mysteries of memory itself as the narrator recalls the time the service was busted by the Chicago Police.

Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture

Minerva Rising Press

Ever since reproductive choice was legalized in the US in 1973, factions have been trying to strip the right to safe, legal abortions by any means necessary. Lately, they're getting their way. Fuck that noise. We'll keep fighting back, armed with the lessons of history. Read up with these zines and books both about organizing and finding abortion access, and learning the medical procedures so we can make informed choices about what to do with our own bodies. And, of course, taking care of ourselves and each other. Includes two books and four zines: Hot Pants, Alive With Vigor, Reclaiming Our Ancient Wisdom, Free to Choose, Jane, Wildseed, and Feminism #1

Get Your Laws Off My Uterus

Gauthier, Isabelle

Pack! Super

Women's Health

Microcosm Publishing

Poetry. Judith Arcana, a reproductive rights activist formerly involved in Chicago's pre-Rose v. Wade underground abortion service, imbues her poetry, fiction and essays with the same ferocity, humor and passion that informs her activism. "It's a passionate rush of language, hope in a hard time, truth in the middle of lies. This poetry sparks and burns with the hidden language and stories of women"-Minnie Bruce Pratt.

What If Your Mother

Poetry

Chicory Blue Press

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Books by Arcana, Judith