Galentine’s Day is a holiday made-up by fictional character Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler’s character in Parks and Recreation) that I celebrate in real life.
In the first season of Parks and Recreation, Leslie announces that she celebrates the women in her life on the day before Valentine’s Day every year. Since then, many women have followed suit, and now more than ever we need a nationally-recognized day to celebrate the amazing things that women are accomplishing.
So in the spirit of Galentine’s Day, I’d like to recognize (and recommend) a number of fellow female writers who are close to my heart. Read them. Love them. Celebrate them. Share them on Twitter.
dawn lonsinger
Dawn is a poet, an essayist, and a teacher. She held my hand through two cold, icy years of graduate school, and she once told me, in an anesthesia-pain-killer-fog as I was driving her home after she had her wisdom teeth removed, that her tongue is like an animal. Beautiful and accurate.
All of the contributors to Women’s Media Center.
Women’s Media Center is a non-profit progressive media organization that “works with the media to ensure that women’s stories are told and women’s voices are heard.” Their blog explores how women are (or aren’t) represented in the media industry, from Hollywood to the sports media industry to the advertising industry. It’s an incredibly powerful collection of thought leadership.
Shoko Wanger (and her Non-Career Advice)
Shoko is a freelance writer living in NYC (and long-time family friend) that authors the brilliant and generous blog Sho & Tell. Her Non-Career Advice series is a collection of advice from a variety of people in a variety of occupations that has nothing to do with career-building or making money. Women are seldom offered advice that’s not beauty or career related, so Shoko’s series is refreshing.
I’ve never met Dr. Gilligan but her work inspired my undergraduate thesis and sparked my interest in feminist theory. We were, however, once in the same line for the ladies’ room during a conference and I shakily told her that she could go ahead of me because “I didn’t really need to go that bad,” which I hope conveyed that she was my idol and that I attribute most of my success as a writer, mother, and thinker to her. Go read all of her books.
Rikki writes. 