Joanna Russ
Joanna Russ
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Joanna Russ was a renowned American science fiction author, feminist critic, and academic. She is often referred to by her pen name, Joanne Garry.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born: February 22, 1937, in New York City
Died: April 29, 2011, at the age of 74
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Russ was an American writer, critic, and professor. She held dual citizenship in both the United States and Ireland.
Early Life and Background
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Joanna Russ grew up in a family that valued education and encouraged her to pursue her interests. Her father was a lawyer, and her mother was a homemaker. Russ developed a passion for writing at an early age and began submitting stories to science fiction magazines while still in high school. She went on to study English literature at Barnard College, where she earned her Bachelor's degree.
Major Accomplishments
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Throughout her career, Joanna Russ made significant contributions to the field of science fiction and feminist criticism. Her notable accomplishments include:
Winning the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1976 for "The Female Man"
Earning a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1981
Serving as president of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) from 1977 to 1979Notable Works or Actions
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Joanna Russ's writing career spanned over four decades. Her notable works include:
The Female Man (1975): A classic science fiction novel that explores themes of identity, politics, and relationships
We Who Are About To...: A series of essays on feminist criticism and theory
How to Suppress Women's Writing (1983): A collection of essays examining the ways in which women's writing has been marginalized or suppressed throughout history
Russ was also an outspoken advocate for feminist causes, using her platform as a writer and academic to raise awareness about issues affecting women.
Impact and Legacy
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Joanna Russ's impact on science fiction and feminist criticism is still felt today. Her work continues to inspire new generations of writers, critics, and scholars. As a writer, she pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable in science fiction, exploring complex themes like identity, power, and relationships.
Russ's legacy extends beyond her writing as well. She was a dedicated teacher and mentor, helping to launch the careers of many notable authors and academics. Her advocacy for feminist causes has paved the way for future generations of women in academia and beyond.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Joanna Russ is widely quoted and remembered due to her groundbreaking work in science fiction and feminist criticism. Her writing continues to resonate with readers today, offering insights into complex themes like identity, power, and relationships. As a pioneering figure in the field of science fiction, Russ's legacy serves as a reminder of the importance of representation, diversity, and inclusivity.
By exploring Joanna Russ's life, work, and impact, we gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of her writing and the ways in which it continues to inspire and challenge readers today.
Quotes by Joanna Russ
Joanna Russ's insights on:
If you want me to do something else useful, you had better show me what that something else is.
I cannot get into this swamp or I will never get out; and if I start crying again I’ll remember that I have no one to love, and if anyone treats me like that again, I’ll kill him. Only I mustn’t because they’ll punish me.
I think it no accident that the myth of the isolated achievement so often promotes women writers’ less good work as their best work.
How am I to put this together with my human life, my intellectual life, my solitude, my transcendence, my brains, and my fearful, fearful ambition?
An as-yet-unpublished poet in Boulder, Colorado, once said to me that anything worth doing was worth doing badly. I may seem, in the foregoing sketchy pages, to have followed her advice rather too well.
They validate perceptions that need validating, especially in adolescence – ie, under the bland, forced optimism of American life terrible forces are at work, things are not what they seem, and if you feel lonely, persecuted, a misfit, and in terror, you aren’t crazy. You’re right.
This is until you’re forty-five, ladies, after which you vanish into thin air like the smile of the Cheshire cat leaving behind only a disgusting grossness and a subtle poison that automatically infects every man under twenty-one.
I have had my share of trouble and sickness but always somewhere in me there is a little spot of warmth and joy to make it all easier, like a traveler’s fire burning out in the wilderness on a cold night.
The reply to this was that Three took out a small revolver, and this surprised me; for everyone knows that anger is most intense towards those you know: it is lovers and neighbors who kill each other. There’s no sense, after all, in behaving that way toward a perfect stranger; where’s the satisfaction? No love, no need; no need, no frustration; no frustration, no hate, right? It must have been fear.