Silences

First published in 1978 <strong>Silences</strong> singlehandedly revolutionized the literarycanon. In this classic work now back in print Olsen broke open the s... » 

First published in 1978 Silences singlehandedly revolutionized the literarycanon. In this classic work now back in print Olsen broke open the study ofliterature and discovered a lost continentthe writing of women and workingclass people. From the excavated testimony of authors letters and diaries welearn the many ways the creative spirit especially in those disadvantaged bygender class and race can be silenced. Olsen recounts the torments ofMelville the crushing weight of criticism on Thomas Hardy the shame thatbrought Willa Cather to a dead halt and struggles of Virginia Woolf Olsensheroine and greatest exemplar of a writer who confronted the forces that wouldsilence her. This 25thanniversary edition includes Olsens now infamousreading lists of forgotten authors and a new introduction and author preface. «