Sleeping with One Eye Open

How do women writers cope with changes and juggle the demands in their already full lives to make time for their lives as artists? In this anthology, noted female novelists, journalists, essayists, poets, and nonfiction writers address the old and new challenges of "doing it all" that face women writers as the twenty-first century approaches. With eloquence, sensitivity, and more than a touch of wry humor, Sleeping with One Eye Open relates positive stories from women who lead effective lives as artists, emphasizing how sources of inspiration, discipline, resourcefulness, and determination help them succeed despite the obstacle of "no time."

The title essay, Judith Ortiz Cofer's "The Woman Who Slept with One Eye Open," defines the collection. Cofer relates the ways in which a mythological story from her Puerto Rican culture gave her confidence and courage, encouraging her creative success and emphasizing the rewards of "women's power" and personal strength. Denise Levertov's "The Vital Necessity" urges poets to make time for daydreams--essential, empowering creative food. Tillie Olsen offers a frank discussion of the pressures of work and expectations that too often sap creative energy. Tess Gallagher connects her mother's creative gardening with her own inspiration as a poet and the need for growth in her writing. Marilyn Kallet's interview with Lucille Clifton relates the personal strength that helped Clifton raise six children and publish her first book at the same time. This affirming collection offers a wealth of writing advice, given through honest accounts of perseverance and accomplishment.

Author: Marilyn Kallet
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 11/01/1999
Pages: 248
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 9.01h x 6.05w x 0.74d
ISBN: 9780820321530

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/04/1999 pg. 59
Library Journal 11/15/1999 pg. 69

About the Author
Judith Ortiz Cofer (Editor)
JUDITH ORTIZ COFER (1952-2016) was the Regents' and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing Emerita at the University of Georgia. She is also the author of The Latin Deli: Telling the Lives of Barrio Women, An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio, Woman in Front of the Sun: On Becoming a Writer; and many other books. The University of Georgia Press published her first novel, The Line of the Sun, in 1989.

Marilyn Kallet (Editor)
MARILYN KALLETT has published sixteen books, including six volumes of poetry, translations, critical essays, children's books, pedagogy, and anthologies of women's literature. She is a professor emerita of English at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.