The Woman Reader

Courses studying writing for, by, and about women grew out of the women's movement of the 1970's, and have changed as feminism itself has developed over the past 20 years. "The Woman Reader" is a practical guide for students and teachers of women's writing courses from the perspective of over ten years' experience in adult education. While much feminist criticism has originated in academic institutions, Milloy and O'Rourke assert the relevance of studying women's writing to the "ordinary" woman, while questioning who she might be. They discuss various strategies for learning and teaching, and give an honest account of some of the mistakes and difficulties they have encountered, particularly as they moved towards an understanding of the workings of racism and heterosexism in the classroom. "The Woman Reader" combines study of feminist thinking about questions of autobiography, differences of race and sexuality, women's writing and history with discussions of writers such as Merle Collins, Alison Fell, Jackie Kay, Paule Marshall, Alice Walker, Marge Piercy, Adrienne Rich, Michele Roberts and May Sarton.
This book should be of interest to students and teachers in modern feminist literature in adult and continuing education and gender studies.