More from the slush pile
Jean Lee Cole, April 2, 2018
More reviews from the class, with links to the texts.
Louisa C. Osborne Haughton, “The Ever-Ready Edgar,” fiction. WOW, EDGAR! What a player!!! I cannot believe how bold this man is. However, I love Eleanor not falling under his spell. Honestly, it really seems like men have not changed since 1906. I like this and think it is worth including because it addresses relationships at the time and it is relatable today. Also the ending is WILD. —Marina
Emily Paret Atwater, TRIXSEY’S TRAVELS, fiction. Finally, a work of children’s lit that doesn’t include dialect! Stories of Trixsey the squirrel and Pansey, the girl who keeps him. This seems like it’s a cute little collection. Trixsey speaks in “squirrel language” but Atwater, thankfully unlike Whitelock, doesn’t represent animal voices with racialized dialect. Bonus points for beginning in medias res and building up a little bit to the reveal that Trixsey is a squirrel.—Clara
Emily Emerson Lantz, “Suburban Baltimore: North Charles St.,” newspaper feature. I’m continually impressed with the range and scope of Lantz’ knowledge pertaining to Maryland history. I can’t help but wonder how much of it she actually knew by heart, and how often she had to consult other sources. Anyway, given just how many works we have access to by her (upwards of 400), I’m thinking we might want to apply two filters for selection: (1) works pertaining to the history of Loyola and the surrounding area, and (2) works pertaining to women or womanhood. This work fulfills that first criteria. —Hunter
Elizabeth Latimer, THE PRINCE INCOGNITO; novel. This was interesting because the writing varied so much from Latimer’s other fiction writing style. It also differed a lot from Litchfield’s style of writing with a swooning woman that seems to need a strong male counterpart. This has a lot of landscape description and it seems to be fiction based on some kind of historical or sociological background so it makes sense knowing that Latimer specializes in historical fiction and historical works. I would be interested in continuing to read this which I think says a lot about this work.—Ellen
Lizette Woodworth Reese, “The Thrush in the Orchard” from A QUIET ROAD, poetry. This poem is very Victorian with its stanzas and expressions. This seems like a break-up poem at first with the talk of coldness in spring, spring often symbolizes new beginnings. But on the other hand, the more I read this poem, the more it sounds like a bad sexual experience. I have mixed feelings about this one. —Tara
Virginia Woodward Cloud, “The Lecture” (1903): short fiction. This piece is hilarious and witty. I love the ironic depiction of feminist ideals which she upholds. I think this should definitely be included in the anthology, as it expresses the radical ideology of club members, as well as balances out some of the more conservative, Victorian pieces. Her use of accents is also a subtle hit on the “southern womanhood” which we find central to some club members. —Monica
Lizette Woodworth Reese, A WAYSIDE LUTE, poetry. Another collection of her poems, this work was once again very melancholy – did Reese enjoy discussing sad things? Poems such as Tears, Taps, The Unforgotten Things, and The Shadow on the Dial (including many other works) were all very sad to read, and alluded to times past. Her poems seem to focus on how life is stuck in a doldrum state, where good times are long past, and we can only live in that past. After reading her poems, it makes me wonder – what happened to make Reese so sad? —Jonathan
Lucy Meacham Thruston, SONGS OF THE CHESAPEAKE, poetry. This poetry collection was quality and beautifully illustrated. The poems were nature centric, but enjoyable to read. I also think the Maryland theme of the Chesapeake pertains to the geography of the group and is a theme many of the writers took up. The collection is also fairly short and I believe the whole thing could be included.—Katie Shiber
This content was migrated from the The WLCB log: Documenting the Woman’s Literary Club of Baltimore 1890-1941