![]() ![]() ![]() When Nina first came across Beasley’s writing in an anthology, she and Marie went online and were surprised by what they found about Beasley-or rather, what they couldn’t find. In 2019, Nina Bennett and Marie Bennett first discovered Beasley and her mysterious life. ![]() Now, thanks to two intrepid editors determined to give her a voice, Beasley’s story is heard again. Because of that, her memoir was banned in America upon its release. In 1925, she was a woman who wrote about things nice young ladies didn’t talk about: poverty, the struggles of the working class, abuse, and sexuality. Gertrude Beasley wrote her memoir My First Thirty Years-the coming-of-age story of a young woman raised in rural Texas poverty-long before these authors shaped the genre, yet her legacy as an American writer has been lost. This program will be hosted online via Zoom, register for the program here. Celia Marshik, Professor of English at Stony Brook University. But, have you heard of Gertrude Beasley? Editors Nina Bennett and Marie Bennett discuss uncovering and reprinting 1920s author Gertrude Beasley’s banned memoir My First Thirty Years. You’ve certainly heard of Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck…literary giants who dominated the portrayal of the American experience. ![]()
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