Dorothy Allison

I was at the alma mater today for an afternoon talk at the King Library with Dorothy Allison, courtesy of the Center for Literary Arts. Dorothy was such an enormous inspiration, especially to writers like me who came from working-class roots and didn't have tons of connections to the literary world. I also loved that she discussed the early years of feminism, which I had some incipient knowledge of as an undergrad. Finding and reading those early works, the poetry and prose of that time, was an enormous liberation for me as a young woman trying very hard to define my place in the world and discover my voice.

Anyway, I was tremendously inspired by listening to Dorothy and am going to re-read some of her books and essays. I ended up wishing she could have been a writing mentor to me, happy to have heard her speak, and inspired to get home and write! And so, I did!