At times of crisis, what can feminists do in the public sphere? What, in particular, has poetry and visual art offered to those wanting to put feminist values into action?
On Monday, January 27th, 2025, the January installment of Humanities in the Village took place at the Bird in Hand bookstore to celebrate Public Feminism in Times of Crisis: From Sappho’s Fragments to Viral Hashtags, a new book by Jennifer Stager (Art History, JHU) and Leila Easa (City College of San Francisco, English). Jen and Leila were joined in the discussion by Dora Malech (Writing Seminars, JHU).
Jen, Leila, and Dora discussed continuities and changes in public acts of feminism from ancient times to the present, the value of writing a book for an audience beyond their own fields, and the special issue of The Hopkins Review, of which Dora is editor in chief, that brings many more writers and thinkers into the conversations explored in the book. Afterward, members of the audience broadened the conversation to include the practicalities of collaboration, the challenges of balancing personality and impersonality in writing, and the ways that social media platforms can enable but also restrict public feminism.
We thank Jen, Leila, Dora, the Bird in Hand team, and everyone who joined us for this great conversation!
Join us again on Monday, February 24th for the next Humanities in the Village gathering. Christopher Cannon will discuss his new book, The Oxford Chaucer with Sharon Achinstein.
Jennifer, Leila, and Dora’s recommended reading list:
– Tarana Burke, Unbound
– Leila Easa & Jennifer Stager (guest editors), “Locating a Collective Lyric ‘I'”, a special folio in The Hopkins Review
– Roxane Gay, Hunger
– Maria Dahvana Headley, Beowulf: A New Translation
– Dora Malech and Laura T. Smith, American Sonnet: An Anthology of Poems and Essays
– M. NourbeSe Philip, Zong!
– Evie Shockley, Suddenly We
By Milan Terlunen / Public Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow