The Critical Response to Tillie Olsen: (Critical Responses in Arts and Letters)

Tillie Olsen grew up in a Socialist, secular Jewish immigrant working-class home in the American midwest, and became one of the most striking writers of the twentieth century. The selections of criticism in this anthology survey the reception of her work over the past sixty years and clarify the social, cultural, and economic contexts of her writings. The volume includes selections of the most important criticism of her work, along with original contributions. The essays in this book are grouped in three sections, which correspond with different stages in the development of Olsen's life and art. The selections demonstrate the potential for social activism cultivated in her upbringing, her development as a young writer in the mid-1930s California Marxian milieu, and her maturation after years of balancing the responsibilities of childrearing and employment outside the home. The pieces link her with traditional American literary figures, and relate her to socialist feminist literary tradition and the Jewish American tradition as well. An important introduction to her work, the volume is also a companion to other studies.Kay Nelson is the author of 'The Critical Response to Tillie Olsen: (Critical Responses in Arts and Letters)', published 1994 under ISBN 9780313287145 and ISBN 0313287147.