| Dear Marsha,
I’ve read every word Ursula Parrott ever wrote that I could get my hands on and she was a tremendously funny woman. Even when the chips were down, she could crack a perfectly crafted joke or pen a sophisticated witticism. For example, after her first divorce Parrott wrote to one of her ex-lovers about an “Irrelevant discussion of a great problem: what does one do with one’s ex-boy friend’s pajamas?” Spotting them nicely laundered and folded in a bureau drawer, Parrott riffed on a theme that she approached more seriously in some of her published writing: |
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As always, there was the final punchline: “Of course, --they might be convenient for one’s next boy-friend.” I can’t top Ursula’s humor, but I do have a pretty good headline for today: Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life & Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott is officially published! Last week, the National Endowment for the Humanities was kind enough to publish an excerpt from the book in their April issue of Humanities magazine. Walter magazine published an interview with me in which I share my thoughts about the sexism of the American literary canon, how my National Humanities Center and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships gave me the time and resources to write my book, and more about the fascinating world of Ursula. And Mary Wisniewski published a review of Becoming the Ex-Wife in Chicago’s NewCityLit. I hope you will join me at one of my upcoming book events, and I would be honored if you would share your thoughts about “Becoming the Ex-Wife” on Twitter, Instagram, or by email, or by leaving a review on the platform of your choice. Tonight!!!!!! April 25, 6pm, Book Reading and Discussion with Belle Boggs, So & So Books, Raleigh, NC (More information here) April 26, 7pm, The Divorcee (1930) Screening and Book Discussion w/ Tift Merritt, Cary Theater, Cary, NC (Get your tickets here) |
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April 27, 2pm, Ursula Parrott Lecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (More information here) April 27, 7pm, Next Time We Love (1936) Screening and Discussion at Old Greenbelt Theater, Greenbelt, MD (More information here) April 29, 2pm, There’s Always Tomorrow (1956) Screening and Book Signing, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (Register here) April 30, 1pm, There’s Always Tomorrow (1934) & The Divorcee (1930) Introductions and Book Signing, American Film Institute Silver Theater, Silver Spring, MD (More information here) |
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