Tillie Olsen
Encyclopedia
Tillie Lerner Olsen was an American
writer associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists
.
n Jewish immigrants in Wahoo, Nebraska
and moved to Omaha
while a young child. There she attended Lake School
in the Near North Side
through the eighth grade, living among the city's Jewish community
. At age 15, she dropped out of Omaha High School
to enter the work force. Over the years Olsen worked as a waitress, domestic worker, and meat trimmer. She was also a union organizer and political activist in the Socialist community. In the 1930s she joined the American Communist party
. She was briefly jailed in 1934 while organizing a packing house
workers' union (the charge was "making loud and unusual noise"), an experience she wrote about in The Nation and The Partisan Review
. She later moved to San Francisco, California, where in 1936 she met and lived with Jack Olsen, who was an organizer and a longshoreman. She married Jack in 1944, on the eve of his departure for service in World War II.http://tillieolsen.com/Tillie_biography.htmlhttp://www.enotes.com/contemporary-literary-criticism/olsen-tilliehttp://www.progressive.org/mag_intv1199 San Francisco remained her home until her 85th year when she moved to Berkeley, California, to a cottage behind her youngest sibling.
. Olsen abandoned the book, however, due to work, childrearing, and household responsibilities. Decades later in 1974, her unfinished novel was published as Yonnondio: From the Thirties
.
Olsen first published a book in 1961, Tell Me a Riddle
, a collection of four short stories, most linked by the characters in one family. Three of the stories were from the point of view of mothers. "I Stand Here Ironing
" is the first and shortest story in the collection, about a woman who is estranged from her daughter. "O Yes" is the story of a white woman whose young daughter's friendship with a black girl is becoming fragile, to her mother's concern. The title story, the longest in the collection, "Hey Sailor, What Ship?", is told by an aging sailor whose friendship with a San Francisco family (relatives of the main character in "Tell Me a Riddle") is becoming increasingly strained (in later editions of the book, "Hey Sailor, What Ship?" appears as the second story in the collection). All but the first story were connected by featuring different members of the same family. Tell Me a Riddle has become a staple of college and university literature curricula in the United States. Tell Me a Riddle was awarded the O. Henry Prize in 1961 for best American short story.
Olsen's non-fiction volume, titled Silences, was an analysis of authors' silent periods in literature, including writer's block
s, unpublished work, and the problems that working-class writers, and women in particular, have in finding the time to concentrate on their art. One of her observations was that prior to the late 20th century, all the great women writers in Western literature either had no children or had full-time housekeepers to raise the children. The second part of the book was a study of the work of little-known writer Rebecca Harding Davis
. Olsen researched and wrote the book in the San Francisco Public Library
.
Reviewing Olsen's life in The New York Times Book Review, Margaret Atwood
attributed Olsen’s relatively small output to her full life as a wife and mother, a “grueling obstacle course” experienced by many writers. Her book Silences “ begins with an account, first drafted in 1962, of her own long, circumstantially enforced silence,” Atwood wrote. “She did not write for a very simple reason: A day has 24 hours. For 20 years she had no time, no energy and none of the money that would have bought both.”
In 1968, Olsen signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Once her books were published, Olsen became a teacher and writer-in-residence at numerous colleges, such as Amherst College, Stanford University, MIT, and Kenyon College. She was the recipient of nine honorary degrees, National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Also among the honors bestowed upon Olsen was the Rea Award for the Short Story
, in 1994, for a lifetime of outstanding achievement in the field of short story writing.
Olsen died on January 1, 2007, in Oakland, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
Biography
Olsen was born to RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jewish immigrants in Wahoo, Nebraska
Wahoo, Nebraska
Wahoo is a city in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,508 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saunders County.-History:Wahoo was founded in 1870...
and moved to Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
while a young child. There she attended Lake School
Lake School
Lake School was located at 2410 North 19th Street in the Near North Side neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. The school was one of Omaha's "black schools", and grade one through grade eight. The school closed in the 1970s.-History:...
in the Near North Side
Near North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area...
through the eighth grade, living among the city's Jewish community
Jews and Judaism in Omaha, Nebraska
The history of the Jews in Omaha, Nebraska goes back to the mid-1850s.The Jewish community in Omaha, Nebraska has made significant cultural, economic and social contributions to the city. The first Jewish settlers came to the city shortly after it was founded in 1856. The most numerous Jewish...
. At age 15, she dropped out of Omaha High School
Omaha Central High School
Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, was founded in 1859.The current building, located in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska, was designed by John Latenser, Sr. and built between 1900 and 1912...
to enter the work force. Over the years Olsen worked as a waitress, domestic worker, and meat trimmer. She was also a union organizer and political activist in the Socialist community. In the 1930s she joined the American Communist party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
. She was briefly jailed in 1934 while organizing a packing house
Packing house
A packing house is a facility where fruit is received and processed prior to distribution to market.Bulk fruit is delivered to the plant via trucks or wagons, where it is dumped into receiving bins and sorted for quality and size...
workers' union (the charge was "making loud and unusual noise"), an experience she wrote about in The Nation and The Partisan Review
Partisan Review
Partisan Review was an American political and literary quarterly published from 1934 to 2003, though it suspended publication between October 1936 and December 1937.-Overview:...
. She later moved to San Francisco, California, where in 1936 she met and lived with Jack Olsen, who was an organizer and a longshoreman. She married Jack in 1944, on the eve of his departure for service in World War II.http://tillieolsen.com/Tillie_biography.htmlhttp://www.enotes.com/contemporary-literary-criticism/olsen-tilliehttp://www.progressive.org/mag_intv1199 San Francisco remained her home until her 85th year when she moved to Berkeley, California, to a cottage behind her youngest sibling.
Writing
She attempted to introduce the challenges of her own life and contemporary political circumstances into a novel which she began in the 1930s, when she was only 19. Although only an excerpt of the first chapter was published in The Partisan Review in 1934, it led to a contract for her with Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. Olsen abandoned the book, however, due to work, childrearing, and household responsibilities. Decades later in 1974, her unfinished novel was published as Yonnondio: From the Thirties
Yonnondio: From the Thirties
Yonnondio: From the Thirties is a novel by American author Tillie Olsen which was published in 1974 but written in the 1930s. The novel details the lives of the Holbrook family, depicting their struggle to survive during the 1920s. Yonnondio explores the life of the working class family, as well...
.
Olsen first published a book in 1961, Tell Me a Riddle
Tell Me a Riddle
Tell Me a Riddle is a 1980 American drama film directed by Lee Grant. The screenplay by Joyce Eliason and Alev Lytle is based on Tillie Olsen's collection of four short stories of the same name which won the 1961 O. Henry Award. This is Grant's first film as director...
, a collection of four short stories, most linked by the characters in one family. Three of the stories were from the point of view of mothers. "I Stand Here Ironing
I Stand Here Ironing
"I Stand Here Ironing" is a short story by Tillie Olsen. It was published in her short story collection Tell Me a Riddle in 1961.-Plot introduction:Point of view:...
" is the first and shortest story in the collection, about a woman who is estranged from her daughter. "O Yes" is the story of a white woman whose young daughter's friendship with a black girl is becoming fragile, to her mother's concern. The title story, the longest in the collection, "Hey Sailor, What Ship?", is told by an aging sailor whose friendship with a San Francisco family (relatives of the main character in "Tell Me a Riddle") is becoming increasingly strained (in later editions of the book, "Hey Sailor, What Ship?" appears as the second story in the collection). All but the first story were connected by featuring different members of the same family. Tell Me a Riddle has become a staple of college and university literature curricula in the United States. Tell Me a Riddle was awarded the O. Henry Prize in 1961 for best American short story.
Olsen's non-fiction volume, titled Silences, was an analysis of authors' silent periods in literature, including writer's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
s, unpublished work, and the problems that working-class writers, and women in particular, have in finding the time to concentrate on their art. One of her observations was that prior to the late 20th century, all the great women writers in Western literature either had no children or had full-time housekeepers to raise the children. The second part of the book was a study of the work of little-known writer Rebecca Harding Davis
Rebecca Harding Davis
Rebecca Blaine Harding Davis was an American author and journalist. She is deemed a pioneer of literary realism in American literature. She graduated valedictorian from Washington Female Seminary in Pennsylvania...
. Olsen researched and wrote the book in the San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street at Grove. The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold...
.
Legacy
Though she published little, Olsen was influential for her treatment of the lives of women and the poor. She drew attention to why women have been less likely to be published authors (and why they receive less attention than male authors when they do publish). Her work received recognition in the years of much feminist political and social activity. It contributed to new possibilities for women writers. Olsen's influence on American feminist fiction has caused some critics to be frustrated at simplistic feminist interpretations of her work. In particular, several critics have pointed to Olsen's Communist past as contributing to her thought.Reviewing Olsen's life in The New York Times Book Review, Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
attributed Olsen’s relatively small output to her full life as a wife and mother, a “grueling obstacle course” experienced by many writers. Her book Silences “ begins with an account, first drafted in 1962, of her own long, circumstantially enforced silence,” Atwood wrote. “She did not write for a very simple reason: A day has 24 hours. For 20 years she had no time, no energy and none of the money that would have bought both.”
In 1968, Olsen signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Once her books were published, Olsen became a teacher and writer-in-residence at numerous colleges, such as Amherst College, Stanford University, MIT, and Kenyon College. She was the recipient of nine honorary degrees, National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Also among the honors bestowed upon Olsen was the Rea Award for the Short Story
Rea Award for the Short Story
The Rea Award for the Short Story is an annual award given to a living American or Canadian author chosen for unusually significant contributions to short story fiction.-The Award:...
, in 1994, for a lifetime of outstanding achievement in the field of short story writing.
Olsen died on January 1, 2007, in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
.
Further reading
- Dawahare, Anthony. "'That Joyous Certainty': History and Utopia in Tillie Olsen's Depression-Era Literature." Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 44, No. 3. (Autumn, 1998), pp. 261–275.
- Reid, Panthea. Tillie Olsen: One Woman, Many Riddles, Rutgers University Press, 2010.
- Rosenfelt, Deborah. "From the Thirties: Tillie Olsen and the Radical Tradition." Feminist Studies, Vol. 7, No. 3. (Autumn, 1981), pp. 371–406.
- Schultz, Lydia A. "Flowing against the Traditional Stream: Consciousness in Tillie Olsen's 'Tell Me a Riddle.'" MELUS, Vol. 22, No. 3, Varieties of Ethnic Criticism. (Autumn, 1997), pp. 113–131.
Major works
- Tell Me A Riddle, Lippincott, 1961. Reprinted, Rutgers University Press, 1995
- Yonnondio: From the Thirties, Delacorte, 1974. Reprinted, Dell, 1989.
- Silences, Delacorte, 1978. Reprinted, Dell, 1989. Reprinted, The Feminist Press, 2003.
- Mothers to Daughter, Daughter to Mother: Mothers on Mothering: A Daybook and Reader, The Feminist Press, 1989.
- Mothers & Daughters: That Special Quality: An Exploration in Photographs with Estelle Jussim, Aperture, 1995.
- The Riddle of Life And Death with Leo Tolstoy, The Feminist Press, 2007.
External links
- Tillie Olsen Film Project
- Biography on GradeSaver
- Bibliography from Creighton University
- Obituary/appreciation by Anthony Dawahare in Reconstruction 8.1, 2008
- "Tillie Olsen" by Abigail Martin in the Western Writers Series Digital Editions at Boise State University
- Better Red: The Writing and Resistance of Tillie Olsen and Meridel Le Sueur by Constance Coiner
Research resources
- Tillie Olsen Papers, 1930-1990(call number M0667; ca. 62 linear ft.) are housed in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
Libraries