The Paris Review

Writing the Lives of Forgotten Women

Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders, 1610.

When you need to tell the truth, sometimes nothing will do but lies.

Thanks to the labor of women of all backgrounds who have raised their voices in the face of indifference or opposition, some of the silences in our culture’s narratives are now getting long-overdue attention. The labor of filling the gaps is under way in venues large and small—only last month, the New York Times launched Overlooked, its series of obituaries for unsung women.

Yet while retrieving the facts of willfully forgotten lives is essential, some of the most necessary work of repair or Geraldine Brooks prominently by their side, we’ll miss one of the surest paths to repair. 

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Paris Review

The Paris Review35 min read
An Eye In The Throat
My father answers the phone. He is twenty-three years old, and, as everyone does in the nineties, he picks up the receiver without knowing who is calling. People call all day long, and my parents pick up and say, “Hello?” and then people say, “It’s C
The Paris Review2 min read
Acknowledges
The Plimpton Circle is a remarkable group of individuals and organizations whose annual contributions of $2,500 or more help advance the work of The Paris Review Foundation. The Foundation gratefully acknowledges: 1919 Investment Counsel • Gale Arnol
The Paris Review6 min read
Consecutive Preterite
1.That summer I learned Biblical Hebrewwith Christian women heaving themselvestoward ministry one brick building at a time.We got along well, they and I and our teacher,a religious studies graduate student who spenteight hours a day transmitting the

Related Books & Audiobooks