California is home to many important women writers who have pushed the envelope in literature with their creative acumen. Here are just a few of the many talented women who make up California's literary scene.
Amanda Gorman
Contribution: In 2021, Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in American history and was appointed the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate by Urban Word in 2017.
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Diana O'Hehir
Contribution: Diana O'Hehir was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a professor at Mills College in Oakland, California, and an editor with Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar for the anthology Mothersongs: Poems for, by, and about Mothers.
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Julia Vinograd
Contribution: Known as the "The Bubble Lady" for her use of bubbles as a form of non-violent protest, Julia Vinograd was a street poet and widely considered Berkeley’s unofficial poet laureate. She published over 68 books of poetry in her lifetime.
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Maxine Hong Kingston
Contribution: Maxine Hong Kingston was one of the first nationally recognized and acclaimed Chinese-American authors. She wrote about the struggles and conflicts which first generation children faced as children of immigrants and is perhaps best known for her novel, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts, which won her national merit and acclaim.
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Ursula K. Le Guin
Contribution: Ursula K. Le Guin is a celebrated science fiction/fantasy author who pushed the envelope in a male-dominated genre and was one of the first to feature a hero of color in a fantasy series when she penned her EarthSea series. She has won several awards and is one of California's most prolific writers.
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Amy Tan
Contribution: Amy Tan became a New York Times best-selling novelist who brought to life the conflicts that arise not only between multiple generations but between first generation Chinese-Americans and their immigrant parents. She is most known for her novel The Joy Luck Club.
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Julia Cho
Contribution: Julia Cho is most known for the ways in which she seamlessly and organically presents Korean women's experiences due to the Korean diaspora in her plays.
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Amy Freed
Contribution: Amy Freed is most known for infusing comedy and satire into her period pieces, and her play, Freedomland won national acclaim.
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Sophie Treadwell
Contribution: An early Twentieth Century playwright, Sophie Treadwell is most known for her social activism surrounding women's rights and sexual freedom. She is most known for her play, Marchinal, which was highly acclaimed for its Expressionist qualities. She was also the first American playwright to be paid royalties in the newly formed USSR, the only credentialed female US foreign correspondent covering World War I in France, and the only foreign journalist to interview Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa.
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