Lola Ridge (born Rose Emily Ridge; 12 December, 1873

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

– 19 May, 1941

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

) was an Irish-born New Zealand-American

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

and

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

poet, and an influential editor of

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, and

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

publications. She is best known for her long poems and poetic sequences, published in numerous magazines and collected in five books of poetry.Donna Allego, "Biography: Lola Ridge"
Modern American Poetry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, accessed 29 March 2014 Along with other political poets of the early Modernist period, Ridge has received renewed critical attention since the late 20th century and has been lauded by contemporary poets for her choice and ability to write about urban spaces in her poems.Robert Pinsky, "Street Poet/ How the often-overlooked Lola Ridge became one of America's first great urban Modernists"
''Slate,'' 22 March 2011 A selection of her poetry was published in 2007, and a biography, ''Anything That Burns You: A Portrait of Lola Ridge, Radical Poet'' (by

Terese Svoboda Terese Svoboda is an American poet, novelist, memoirist, short story writer, librettist, translator, biographer, critic and videomaker. Early life and education Svoboda was raised in Nebraska. She attended local schools, then matriculated at Ma ...

) was published in 2016.Terese Svoboda, ''Anything That Burns You: Lola Ridge, Radical Poet,'' Schaffner Press, 201
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Early life

Rose Emily Ridge was born in 1873 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland, to Emma Ridge (née Reilly) and Joseph Henry. She her parents' only surviving child. John Henry died when Ridge she was three-years-old, and Ridge and her mother subsequently emigrated to

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of . ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, when she was six-years-old. In 1895, she married Peter Webster, the manager of a Hokitika gold mine. In 1903 she left Webster and moved to

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

with their three-year-old son Keith to attend Trinity College and study painting at the Sydney Art School with

Julian Ashton Julian Rossi Ashton (27 January 185127 April 1942) was an English-born Australian artist and teacher. He is best known for founding the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and encouraging Australian painters to capture local life and scenery '' ...

. After her mother died, Ridge emigrated to the United States in 1907 and reinvented herself as Lola Ridge, a poet and painter. She settled in San Francisco and published in ''

Overland Monthly The ''Overland Monthly'' was a monthly literary and cultural magazine, based in California, United States. It was founded in 1868 and published between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. History The '' ...

''. Ridge placed her son in a Californian orphanage and moved to New York City's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. Working as a model for artists, in a factory and as a poet and illustrator, she became involved in working class politics and protests, and worked with

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...

and

Margaret Sanger Margaret Higgins Sanger (born Margaret Louise Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966), also known as Margaret Sanger Slee, was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth control ...

."Lola Ridge"
Poetry Foundation Her first book of poetry was published in 1918. On 22 October, 1919, Ridge married David Lawson, a fellow radical.

Literary career

Ridge sent a collection of her poems entitled ''Verses'' (1905) inspired by her childhood in Hokitika to A.G. Stephens at the ''Sydney Bulletin,'' but he declined to publish the collection. In 1918, Ridge gained considerable notice with her long poem, ''The Ghetto'', first published in ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

''. It was included in her first book, ''The Ghetto and Other Poems,'' published that year. The title poem portrays the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrant community of Hester Street in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

of New York, where Ridge lived for a time. It explores the effects of capitalism, gender, and generational conflict in ways that bear comparison to the works of

Charles Reznikoff Charles Reznikoff (August 31, 1894 – January 22, 1976) was an American poet best known for his long work, ''Testimony: The United States (1885–1915), Recitative'' (1934–1979). The term Objectivist was coined for him. The multi-volume ''Test ...

. In addition, Ridge gave an empathetic portrayal of America's urban masses and immigrant communities. The book was a critical success. This recognition led to opportunities for Ridge; she became involved with and edited new ''avant-garde'' magazines such as ''

Others Others or The Others may refer to: Fictional characters * Others (A Song of Ice and Fire), Others (''A Song of Ice and Fire''), supernatural creatures in the fictional world of George R. R. Martin's fantasy series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' * Ot ...

'' in 1919, and ''Broom,'' founded in 1921 by

Harold Loeb Harold Albert Loeb (October 18, 1891 – January 20, 1974) was an American writer, notable as an important American figure in the arts among expatriates in Paris in the 1920s. In 1921 he was the founding editor of ''Broom: An International Magazin ...

, for which she was the American editor from 1922 to 1923, while he published in Rome. While working with Loeb, she had an apartment next to the basement office of ''Broom'' in the townhouse of his estranged wife

Marjorie Content Marjorie Content (1895–1984) was an American photographer from New York City active in modernist social and artistic circles. Her photographs were rarely published and never exhibited in her lifetime. Since the late 20th century, collectors and a ...

. As part of her work at ''Others'', Ridge gave a lecture tour in 1919 on "Women and the Creative Will," arguing that traditional gender roles were a form of patriarchal control used to suppress female creativity. Ridge published 61 poems from 1908 to 1937 in such leading magazines as ''Poetry,'' '' New Republic,'' ''

The Saturday Review of Literature ''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Norman Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, ess ...

'' and ''

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess *Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature *Mother Earth ...

''. She was a contributing editor to ''

The New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both ''The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into '' Masses & Mainstream'' (19 ...

.'' She wrote and published four more books of poetry through 1935, and single poems into 1937. Her collections include ''The Ghetto, and Other Poems'' (1918), ''Sun-up, and Other Poems'' (1920), ''Red Flag'' (1927), ''Firehead'' (1930), and ''Dance of Fire'' (1935). Her work was also collected in anthologies. Her third book, ''Red Flag'' (1927) collected much of her political poetry. In 1929, Ridge was accepted for a residency at the writers colony of

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

. That year she published ''Firehead'', a long poem that was a radical retelling of Jesus' crucifixion. It and her last book, published in 1935 were more philosophical compared to her earlier work. She was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

ship in 1935. She received the

Shelley Memorial Award The Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need, and is ...

from the Poetry Society of America in 1934 and 1935. Publishing until 1937, she died in 1941 of pulmonary

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

Political activities

Ridge did not join any political party, but was active in radical causes. She protested against the executions of

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...

in 1927, and was among those arrested that day. In the 1930s, she supported the defence of

Tom Mooney Thomas Joseph Mooney (December 8, 1882 – March 6, 1942) was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It quickly became apparent that Mo ...

and

Warren Billings Warren Knox Billings (July 4, 1893 – September 4, 1972) was a labor leader and political activist, who was convicted with Thomas Mooney of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It is believed that the two were wrongly convicted of ...

, who had been framed for a 1916 bombing at the Preparedness Day Parade in San Francisco. Her actions during the demonstration in front of the prison on the day Sacco and Vanzetti were executed were described by

Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel ''Ship of Fools'' was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her sho ...

in her long essay, "The Never Ending Wrong." She wrote, "One tall, thin figure of a woman stepped out alone, a good distance into the empty square, and when the police came down at her and the horse's hoofs beat over her head, she did not move, but stood with her shoulders slightly bowed, entirely still. The charge was repeated again and again, but she was not to be driven away. A man near me said in horror, suddenly recognizing her, 'That's Lola Ridge!' and dashed into the empty space toward her. Without any words or a moment's pause, he simply seized her by the shoulders and walked her in front of him back to the edge of the crowd, where she stood as if she were half-conscious. I came near her and said, 'Oh no, don't let them hurt you! They've done enough damage already.' And she said, 'This is the beginning of the end - we have lost something we shan't find again.' I remember her bitter hot breath and her deathlike face." Peter Quartermain described her in the ''

Dictionary of Literary Biography The ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'' is a specialist biographical dictionary dedicated to literature. Published by Gale, the 375-volume setRogers, 106. covers a wide variety of literary topics, periods, and genres, with a focus on American an ...

'' as "the nearest prototype in her time of the proletarian poet of class conflict, voicing social protest or revolutionary idealism."

Works

''The Ghetto, and Other Poems''
Huebsch, 1918.
''Sun-Up, and Other Poems''
Huebsch, 1920 *''Red Flag'', Viking, 1927. *''Firehead'', Payson & Clarke, 1929. *''Dance of Fire'', Smith & Haas, 1935. * *''Collected Early Works of Lola Ridge'' (ed. Daniel Tobin) Little Island Press, 2018.

Legacy and honours

*1935

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in poetry *1934 and 1935, Ridge won the

, given by the Poetry Society of America *Her papers are held at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

Renewed scholarly interest

With renewed scholarly interest in Ridge's work since the late 20th century, selections from her first three books of poetry were published posthumously as, ''Light in Hand: Selected Early Poems'' (2007), edited and with an introduction by Daniel Tobin. Tobin notes that Ridge was, "part of the confluence of politics, culture and the burgeoning of women's voices at the advent of modernism to the start of World War II."Daniel Tobin, "Introduction," to Lola Ridge, ''Light in Hand: Selected Early Poems,'' Quale Press, 2007. Furthermore, Tobin highlights the importance of Ridge's depiction of urban settings in contrast to other modernist writers like

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...

. For Ridge, the modern city becomes a "community shaped by ritual and mutual need rather than an exposé of modern angst and alienation and dissipation."

Robert Pinsky Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of ...

, former

Poet Laureate of the United States The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...

, wrote that contemporary readers need, "to appreciate the magnitude and freshness of her enterprise: to make poetry out of the actual city." Pinsky likens Ridge to 18th-century British poet

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

in her ability to express the perspective of children, evoking, "innocence and experience in a way that blurs the ambiguous boundary between them." Pinsky also notes that Ridge preceded American

Hart Crane Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Provoked and inspired by T. S. Eliot, Crane wrote modernist poetry that was difficult, highly stylized, and ambitious in its scope. In his most ambitious work, '' The Brid ...

, known for his long poem ''

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

'' about the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

, in her assigning "ecstatic, high language of the past, especially of the Elizabethans, to the squalid and the sublime realities of the actual, 20th-century American city."

Quotation

:My doll Janie has no waist :and her body is like a tub with feet on it. :Sometimes I beat her :but I always kiss her afterwards. :When I have kissed all the paint off her body :I shall tie a ribbon about it :so she shan't look shabby. :But it must be blue – :it mustn't be pink – :pink shows the dirt on her face :that won't wash off. :I beat Janie :and beat her... :but still she smiled... :so I scratched her between the eyes with a pin. :Now she doesn't love me any more... :she scowls... and scowls... :though I've begged her to forgive me :and poured sugar in the hole at the back of her head. :::-- from ''Sun-Up and Other Poems''

References

External links

"Lola Ridge: The Radical Modernist We Won't Forget Twice"

, ''Boston Review,'' 18 Feb 2016
"Street Poet/ How the often-overlooked Lola Ridge became one of America's first great urban Modernists"

, ''Slate,'' 22 March 2011, includes links to audio recordings of her poems
Donna Allego, "Biography: Lola Ridge"
Modern American Poetry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Nancy Berke, "Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in Lola Ridge's 'The Ghetto.'"
''Legacy'', vol.16, no.1, 1999, pp. 70–81. * * *
''The Ghetto, and Other Poems'' (1918)
online at University of Pennsylvania Library
''Sun-Up, and Other Poems'' (1920)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridge, Lola 1873 births 1941 deaths American anarchists New Zealand anarchists American women poets Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) New Zealand women poets Irish emigrants to New Zealand (before 1923) Julian Ashton Art School alumni New Zealand emigrants to the United States