By the author of The Female Man-- a provocative survey of the forces that work against women who dare to write. Joanna Russ is a brilliant writer, a writer of real moral passion and high wit. — Adrienne Rich A quirky, irreverent, iconoclastic, idiosyncratic piece of work. It catalogues all the various attitudinal problems and misconceptions ...that allow us to disregard or even discard the artistic productions of women. By defining these patterns so clearly and succinctly, Russ holds a mirror before us-- a mirror in which we can see ourselves anew. — Annette Kolodny A book of the most profound and original clarity. Like all clear-sighted people who look and see what has been much mystified and much lied about, Russ is quite excitingly subversive. The study of literature should never be the same again . . . — Marge Piercy Extraordinary and original ...feminist literary criticism rarely explores the social context in which literature is selected for posterity. This, Russ does persuasively, movingly, and in the finest of critical traditions. — Phyllis Chesler

By the author of The Female Man--a provocative survey of the forces that work against women who dare to write.

If certain people are not suppose to have the ability to produce 'great' literature, and if this supposition is one of the means used to keep such people in their place, the ideal situation (socially speaking) is one in which such people are prevented from producing any literature at all.

A provocative survey of the forces that work against women who dare to write.