Elizabeth Gilbert Born 1969 in Connecticut Grew up on a family Christmas tree farm Education Work Influenced by Went to NYU majored in Political Science stepping outside the box Believes majoring in creative writing turns people into conformists Was a journalist coyote ugly Worked in bars diners ranches this is reflected in her stories Her journalistic endeavors were turned into a movie Critical and popular acclaim 1 novel 2 memoirs short stories Life experiences No formula just write and send it off Also influenced by dickens a lot of characters social issues the wizard of oz Sandra Cisneros Born in 1954 Only daughter had 6 brothers 3rd child Education Work Got her BA at Loyola MFA at University of Iowa Held a variety of teaching counseling positions Wrote 3 books of poetry 1 short story collection 2 novels HOMS is technically a novel Her work has been translated in more than a dozen languages House on Mango Street was published in 1984 She had an interest in community outreach Influenced by Draws a lot from her life experience Bilingual twice as many words two ways to look at the world She was a coming of age minority writer Writing in Spanish gives it a certain attitude rhythm Moved between Chicago and Mexico throughout childhood This affected how she felt Came to Humboldt Park impoverished mostly Puerto Rican area in Chicago at age 11 about the world culture setting of House on Mango Street Themes A focus on place Need to negotiate cultural hybridity Formation of Chicano identity especially dealing with patriarchy Economic inequality economic class issues Lorrie Moore Born in 1957 Married with one son Education Work Influences Themes Failing health Failing relationships Awkwardness Bachelors at St Lawrence MFA at Cornell Professor at University of Wisconsin Wrote Birds of America and a self help book which was actually her grad school thesis that got published 3 short story collections 3 novels 1 children s book Stories usually set in the Midwest Doesn t believe in hand holding encourages self help self reliance Doesn t believe in a lot of generalized writing not uniform uniqueness Doesn t believe in correcting students work gives guidance Tension comedy even though the things she s talking about aren t inherently funny funny ness comes out of humor in tension of awkwardness Jane Smiley dentists Education Work Themes Born in 1949 in CA still lives there now Doesn t do much other than write Grew up in Missouri Her 2nd marriage inspired age of grief which was adopted in 2002 film secret life of Got her bachelors at Vassar and her MFA PHD at University of Iowa Worked at Iowa State University from 1981 1996 Won Pulitzer prize in 1992 Between 1986 and now 13 novels 1 short collection 4 works of non fiction Dysfunctional complex relationships Loss recovery Detailed character studies intense detail and breakdown Spends a lot of time developing creating each character traits habits feelings beliefs ideas dreams past of every character Wide range of settings all over the world Observation of daily routine Excellent use of dialogue Aimee Bender Born in 1969 Education Work She used to teach elementary school Believed kids wrote the greatest stories about unexpected things She had them act out fairytales in class to harness creativity Dubbed with writing modern fairytales Teaches creative writing at USC Has met critical and popular success She has 4 other publications Girl With the Flammable Skirt was published in 1998 Influences Themes Fairytales present plot as metaphor which is why she loves fairytales Metaphors comparing things the bring plot to that level of comparison Associated with surrealism Sex deformities body Dysfunctional Relationships Interested in staying close to the physical End of Author Bios Terminology First Half of the Semester 1 Patriarchy A system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line A system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it Dictionary definition 2 Social construction of gender Judith Butler Biological sex does not equal gender Gender a performance a set of repeated acts 3 Complicating the male female binary Biological sex does not equal socially constructed gender Breaking down male female binary Binary opposition Has to do with gendering certain characters As in The Yellow Wallpaper when the narrator has characteristics that are both male 4 Divided Self and female 5 Angel in the house A woman Increases the owner a male s chances of going to Heaven Worshipped as replacement goddess Owners are given credit for goodness Possession gives owner peace and joy Their job is to assuage to soothe to comfort to delight Had Conduct Manuals Angel s jobs are chores Keeping the robes clean costumes must stay clean performing an identity Going into public is hard work women must be ready to care for the man when he Solidification of the idea of private and public sphere Style of art literature developed in the 20th century modern Technique when writing with surrealism style sit down free write let your subconscious take over It s used to disrupt the way we think about the everyday Things we d normally ignore are put in a new light disruption Automatism the performance of actions without conscious thought or intention Dictionary def Subconscious writing a more creative form of writing The expression of one s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite typically for humorous or emphatic effect dictionary def Never explicitly defined in class Be a warning or indication of a future event dictionary def Never explicitly defined gets home 6 Surrealism 7 Irony 8 Foreshadowing 9 First second and third person narrative First person I me mine the speaker Second person you we the addressee Third person They them a third party 10 Point of view Second Half of the Semester 11 Bilingualism The ability to speak multiple languages The position from which someone or something is being observed dictionary def never explicitly defined Cisneros was famous for using both Spanish and English in her writings being bilingual you have twice as many words two ways to look at the world 12 Vingettes A brief evocative description account or episode dictionary def never explicitly defined The way in which Cisneros wrote House on Mango Street short passages 13 Cultural Hybridity The way Cisneros grew up between Chicago and Mexico A merging of