4 female authors who have made an impact on me

It's no secret that most books in the literary canon were written by heterosexual, cisgender, white--basically, privileged in every way--men in the West about privileged, etc. men. As such, only a small portion of people can relate to these works. When the canon consistently reflects a single demographic's point-of-view, it is inherently normalizing that point of view and categorizing other people's perspectives as just that: other. Therefore, in honor of International Women's Day, I'd like to take a look at some fantastic female-identifying authors*. These women have all made a profound impact on me and on how I look at the world, how I read, and how I view myself.

This was a difficult list to compile, because there are so many awesome female authors and yet not enough. Furthermore, most of the other lists I encountered while doing research for this blog posts are mostly composed of white female authors, which is still not very diverse. Clearly, we still have a long way to go before we can call the literary canon intersectional. Still, I have tried to create a varied and reasonable selection by representing authors whom I care about that have also made an impact on the literary canon as we know it. My selection is neither radical nor comprehensive by any means, but it is personal to me.

1. Jane Austen (English, 1775-1817)

It's no secret that I love Jane Austen. One of my favorite books is Pride and Prejudice. I've also read and loved Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Emma (I'll get around to Sense and Sensibility and the others eventually). Austen was a single female writing in a time when it was expected that women would get married and stay at home, not try to have a career, especially not a career in literature. Instead of conforming to her culture's expectations of her, Austen decided to stay single and pursue her passion. Sure, she didn't get much recognition for her writing abilities during her lifetime, but that didn't stop her. Not only did Austen choose to write, but the books she wrote are about strong females who, like her, do not conform to culture's expectations of them. They're not prim or proper--they speak their minds and follow their hearts. And to show the world that women can have it all, Austen gave her heroines wealth, happiness, independence, and marriage. In a time that women were expected to sit down and shut up, Austen's books made waves. Fully-developed female characters whose purpose in a book don't revolve around a man? *gasp*

Jane Austen taught me that it's okay to be yourself. People may not always like it, and you may labeled angry or loud or obnoxious, but that's all chatter. Sure, her heroines make mistakes, but that means they're just like the rest of us. They are judgmental and prejudiced, and they speak before thinking. But that's a heck of a lot better than a female character who is just there to help their male counterpart follow his character arc. Austen is one of my biggest inspirations because of her persistence and love of truth. Thank you, queen.

2. J.K. Rowling (English, 1965-)

Fast forward a few centuries... J.K. Rowling is best known for writing the Harry Potter series and the accompanying books, play, and screenplays set in the same universe, as well as a standalone adult book, The Casual Vacancy. However, she has also written the as-of-yet-unfinished Cormoran Strike mystery series under the pen name Robert Galbraith. I have read almost everything she has written and followed her career ever since I picked up my first Harry Potter book when I was 12. Even aside from her brilliant female characters like Hermione Granger, Robin Ellacott, Luna Lovegood, and Molly Weasley, Rowling is such a role model.

Rowling has shown me what it means to be dedicated. Writing isn't easy, but Rowling went from a struggling single mom to one of the world's best-selling authors and the first person to become a billionaire as a full-time author (she subsequently lost that status by donating a large portion of her earnings to charity). Rowling is also the founder of the Lumos foundation, which is a British NGO attempting to put an end to child institutionalization worldwide. She is one of my biggest inspirations because of her dedication to and passion for storytelling. What a boss.

3. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigerian, 1977-)

I discovered Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie a few years ago, first by watching her TED talk, "We Should All Be Feminists," and then by reading one of her novels, Americanah. I decided to get reacquainted with Adichie this past summer by reading her bestseller, Half of a Yellow Sun, which taught me a lot about Nigerian history and politics. It was all very interesting, but I think the reason I love Adichie the most is her dedication to broadening the literary canon. She focuses her storytelling on Nigerians who attempt to navigate the world as it is today, with all the complications of post-colonialism, political correctness, and racism.

I feel like I still have a long way to go with Adichie, as I've barely touched her work. I intend to read Purple Hibiscus soon, but I want more. I want to discover more authors like Adichie, who care about sharing stories that have been silenced in the past. I want to learn more about people who are not at all like me, but at the same time have more things in common with me than I initially thought. Thank you, Adichie, for introducing me to your world and showing me that it is not so different from mine.

4. Rupi Kaur (Indian-Canadian, 1992-)

If you're a female with an Instagram account (or are at least moderately woke), you've probably heard of Rupi Kaur. She's known for her free-verse feminist poetry and prose, which she performs around the world. I first read both of her books in 2017--Milk and Honey in March of that year, when I was majorly depressed and anxious, and The Sun and Her Flowers in December, right after I got back from studying abroad in Spain. The first time I read each collection, I was profoundly affected--but moreso with Milk and Honey. Each collection came to me at a turning point in my life, and, as I read Kaur's poetry, I found words to explain what I had been feeling. It is both a joy and a burden to be a woman, and Kaur does a good job of addressing that paradox.

I reread Milk and Honey this past August, and I found that it still remained true to me. I was somewhat surprised by this because I changed a lot in the year-and-a-half since the first time I read it. I finished my freshman year of college, went through an emotional break-up, studied abroad, experienced reverse culture shock upon coming back home, finished my sophomore year of college, got closer to my family and friends, and learned a lot about myself in the process. I was in a much healthier state of mind the second time I read Milk and Honey, yet it still applied to me, just in different ways. Kaur knows how to write to those experiencing anger, pain, and sorrow, but she also knows how to write to those experiencing fulfillment, happiness, and contentment. She really is gifted with words, and I am thankful to her for helping me get through those hard times.

Obviously, this selection is quite limited, and there are plenty of authors whom I chose not to include, such as Arundhati Roy, Louisa May Alcott, Alice Walker, and Mary Shelley. I try to be aware of what I am reading, so that I'm not always consuming works from the same demographic. Still, I'm sure there are plenty of great works that aren't even on my radar. I'm always happy to hear recommendations! In the meantime, I hope you gleaned something positive from this selection and perhaps learned a little bit about me in the process.

xx Liz

What are some of your favorite works by female authors?

sources:

1. word cloud generator

2. most of the author info is from my memory, but you can verify most of it here (Austen), here (Rowling), here (Adichie), and here (Kaur)

* we're in the gender and sexuality unit in Cultural Anthropology right now, so I'm trying to watch how I'm phrasing this haha