I like to think that I take my lead from a wide variety of incredible female influences. I have been lucky enough to spend the first part of my life constantly surrounded and supported by fellow women in all aspects - I grew up in a predominantly female household with 3, lets say, headstrong, women (and 1 pretty headstrong brother too), I went to an all female school (yes I still learnt how to interact with boys) and now I find myself working in an all female office. Of course I also have male influences in my life, I even live with one (gasp), but I do love a chance to celebrate all the lovely ladies I know, and wish I knew.
Being a literature lover (hadn't you heard?) I wanted to celebrate International Women's Day by looking to the women who inspire me creatively. So, to a soundtrack of the glorious Tracy Chapman, I settled down to think about the key female writers in my life.
Aemelia Lanyer
Specialising in Early Modern Studies, you take as a given that you're really not going to come across many female writers, and very often that's the case. However, I'm pleased to inform you that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries women actually did exist, and some of them could even write. Aemelia Lanyer remained an inspiration since I learned of her early on in my degree. She is recorded as the first woman to write, print and gain patronage for a substantial amount of poetry. This in itself is a feat worth celebrating, but I was also attracted to Lanyer for the topic of her poetry, and her personal background.
Lanyer's most famous volume, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, tells the story of Christ's Passion from an entirely female perspective. In short, Lanyer was one of the first women to stand up and say "shouldn't Adam take some blame for the whole apple scenario?" Patronage and literary success in this period came from high places, and as a middle class woman of no fortune, it's pretty impressive just how well Lanyer did for herself. Her connection with two women, Lady Ann and Margaret Clifford, inspired The Description of Cookeham, a poem that has always fascinated me for its description of an unapologetically all female environment akin to a Garden of Eden, allowing for productivity and creativity, without the anxiety of the male imposition. Lanyer's consistent use of religion, such a male-dominated topic in the period, to subvert and muddle gender roles, strike me with awe at every re-reading of her poetry.
Doris Lessing
On top of her long list of popular and influential works of fiction (and non-fiction), Lessing has a number of impressive accolades attributed to her name. In 2001 she was awarded the David Cohen Prize for a lifetime's achievement in British Literature, in 2008 she was ranked 5th in The Times' run down of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945, and of course in 2007 she was awarded the Nobel Award in Literature.
Since finishing the last page of The Golden Notebook, I have professed it as my favourite book, and am constantly torn between my desire to experience new writers and just hide away with a stack of Lessing's works. Her fiction has affected the reader and writer in me in many different and deep ways. Initially what drew me to The Golden Notebook was her exploration of women's mental health - I had never experienced such a frank expression of this, and the complexity of the issues directly translate themselves onto the complexity of the pages of the notebooks, both a topical and technical feat. What's more, the blurring between fiction and non-fiction is a constant fascination in Lessing's work. Undoubtedly, her writing on Africa, Communism, the post-war era, female friendship, all of these are based on her own experiences and relationships. However, the meticulous nature of the writing, the creative thinking behind each and every character, sentence, word, comma, proves that these are truly works of fiction. This ability to take on one's own experiences and translate them into a fictional tale, whilst reflecting on such current societal issues, is truly inspirational, and I think the aim of so many writers today.
Arundhati Roy
Another writer I have mentioned before on the blog, God of Small Things author Arundhati Roy opened my eyes to fiction about a culture other than my own that needn't be exoticised or sensationalised. I have Roy to thank for my love of books based across the world, that explore humankind in the context of cultures I have not personally experienced.
However, Roy's personal and political actions are also inspirational, and her ability to write so eloquently about these is so important in translating messages to the general public. In my eyes, a writer who uses their platform and their creative talent to speak up about their beliefs is the best kind of writer. Despite garnering praise from household names in the Western world, and receiving numerous awards and titles for her work, Roy has remained unapologetic in her criticism of many government policies in India, the US and elsewhere. Raised in a world where Tweeting wasn't the go-to forum for complaining, Roy has always responded to political policies and movements through her writing, giving us a plethora of essays on so many subjects to learn from. Although Roy is often cited as a fictional author, and this is indeed where I first came across her, her archive of non-fiction works is actually far more extensive, and she is a shining example of a prominent female voice of activism, be it environmental, social or economical.
Sylvia Plath
I am currently reading Sylvia Plath's Unabridged Journals. It is very, very, very long. So long that I've become someone with a 'bus book' (is that just me and my mum?) - I've had to relegate Sylvia for only bedtime reading as she's just too huge to lug around everywhere.
However, only about 100 pages in, and I've already learned so much about a writer who I already felt pretty comfortable in my knowledge of. What I've realised since starting the journals, which being in her adolescent years, is that my view and knowledge of Plath was inextricably linked to her husband. I first learnt about the two as a pair, I studied poems that they wrote about each other, which they mimicked from one another, and my main point of reference for Plath was her creative but destructive marriage to Ted Hughes and eventual suicide. The journals are revealing to me a completely different side to Plath, and her use of journalling to practice her writing has alone spurred me on to pursue my own writing more. Plath's dedication to her own creative ability, her constant challenging of herself to write something worthwhile, or to write anything she observed, is at times breathtaking. Often in fictional diaries the writer describes everyday occurrences and people in such a fluent, indepth and thoughtful way that it seems unrealistic. Similarly, Plath's own deliberation, descriptive tone, and deep analysis of every single tiny aspect of her day and her stream of consciousness is constantly causing me to remind myself that this isn't a work of fiction, but the daily writings of an 18 year old student.
Reading the journals reminds me of Carol Ann Duffy's Before You Were Mine - Plath had no idea she was going to be a successful writer, suddenly catapulted into the world of creative British intellectuals. Reading the inner workings of the 18 year old Plath's mind gives a snapshot into the famous writer and writer's wife before she was any of those things. In this way, the journals prove that Plath was a writer long before her move to Cambridge, and inspire me to practice and challenge my own writing at any opportunity
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What actually struck me about writing this post, was how narrow my encounter with female writers has been thusfar. Having been a literature student, particularly at Sussex, I pride myself on the variety of literature I have studied and enjoyed. However, whether it's because women are still so often relegated to that age old 'Women and Literature' course you'll find on your syllabus, or because the hallmarks of any given genre are still generally men, I am making a mid-year (?) resolution to educate myself on female writers, from every country, every culture, every background, every genre. Any suggestions welcome!
