What a lovely write up of Brown’s life! A tender story: I read RFJ in high school and performed sections of it when I was on the speech and debate team for “prose and poetry” performance. It was the early 2000s and I had just come out, and it was so important to me to be reading it and speaking the words. I remember getting cruelly negative scores and comments from some judges (they would have been high school teachers, coaches of other teams) when other judges of the same performance gave me glowing scores (reflecting back, I wonder if some of the glowing scores came from LGBTQ folks, too). I thought you might appreciate that small story. Thanks again for this brilliant historical treat! 👏🏻
Ah, thank you for relaying your personal connection to the book, Kate! I can imagine that discovering such a celebratory text at that time must have been a joy. Glad you enjoyed the piece - I really wanted to do Rita justice with it as I find her remarkable. I was overjoyed when I realised she is still writing and now writes fun detective novels!!
This book was really at the vanguard of its time, breaking down barriers for future generations. This piece is brilliantly written and brings the book to life.
Rubyfruit Jungle is a fantastic novel, and I love Molly’s determination to be true to herself throughout the book. It’s fascinating to hear about Rita Mae Brown’s efforts to include all women in the feminist movement. Thank you for sharing :)
What a lovely write up of Brown’s life! A tender story: I read RFJ in high school and performed sections of it when I was on the speech and debate team for “prose and poetry” performance. It was the early 2000s and I had just come out, and it was so important to me to be reading it and speaking the words. I remember getting cruelly negative scores and comments from some judges (they would have been high school teachers, coaches of other teams) when other judges of the same performance gave me glowing scores (reflecting back, I wonder if some of the glowing scores came from LGBTQ folks, too). I thought you might appreciate that small story. Thanks again for this brilliant historical treat! 👏🏻
Ah, thank you for relaying your personal connection to the book, Kate! I can imagine that discovering such a celebratory text at that time must have been a joy. Glad you enjoyed the piece - I really wanted to do Rita justice with it as I find her remarkable. I was overjoyed when I realised she is still writing and now writes fun detective novels!!
This book was really at the vanguard of its time, breaking down barriers for future generations. This piece is brilliantly written and brings the book to life.
Thank you! : ) I agree, so inspiring.
Rubyfruit Jungle is a fantastic novel, and I love Molly’s determination to be true to herself throughout the book. It’s fascinating to hear about Rita Mae Brown’s efforts to include all women in the feminist movement. Thank you for sharing :)
Thanks! : ) I know, both Molly and Rita are still so inspiring 💖