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Reverse-Gentrification of the Literary World

Akashic Books

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Tag: Unmentionables

Laurie Loewenstein on the Smith College Relief Unit

To celebrate the release of Unmentionables by Laurie Loewenstein, we’ve invited organizations to share with us some history related to aspects incorporated in the novel. Today, Laurie talks about her decision to sent her protagonist to volunteer in France with the fictional Fielding College Relief Unit during the Great War. The Fielding College Relief Unit is based on the Smith College Relief Unit, founded in 1917 by Smith College alumna Harriet Boyd Hawes; archivists at Smith College have graciously allowed us to share a photo of and some information about the relief unit.

Women on the Chautauqua Circuit: Winsome Lasses and Ardent Advocates (by Kären M. Mason, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City)

To celebrate the release of Laurie Loewenstein’s debut novel, Unmentionables, we’ve invited organizations to share with us some history related to aspects incorporated in Unmentionables. Set in 1917, Unmentionables tells the story of Marian Elliot Adams, an advocate for women’s rights who travels across the country on the Chautauqua Circuit, giving talks about the need for women to abandon constricting “unmentionables.” Today, Kären M. Mason at the Iowa Women’s Archives shares information about women on the Chautauqua Circuit in the early 20th century, and photos of women during the time.

“Teen Parenting 101” by Kaylie Jones

“That boy Carlson is a liar and a rogue,” I tell my daughter Eve on a Saturday night, as she primps to leave for a house party in Brooklyn. “I wouldn’t go near that boy with a ten-foot pole . . .”