Maureen Brady
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Maureen Brady (born June 7, 1943) is an American writer, editor and educator. She is best known for her novels ''Ginger's Fire'', ''Folly'', and ''Give Me Your Good Ear''. She currently lives and works in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
Woodstock, NY Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...
.


Personal life

Brady was born on June 7, 1943, in
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
, New York and spent her adolescence in Florida. She practised as a physical therapist and also taught physical therapy at
Russell Sage College Russell Sage College (often Russell Sage or RSC) is a co-educational college with two campuses located in Albany and Troy, New York, approximately north of New York City in the Capital District. Russell Sage College offers both undergraduate ...
,
Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...
. In 1977, she attended a New School workshop in writing which gave her the confidence to begin writing. She currently lives in New York with her partner, Martha.


Career

In 1982, she wrote the novel ''Folly'' out of a desire to cast a woman who was an outsider in her community splintered by racism, homophobia, patriarchy and capitalism as a hero. The novel focuses on a workers strike of
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
garment workers with various sub-plots about the diverse set of characters lives in a segregated town. The novel has been described as "pro-labor, feminist, anti-racist, queer positive." In 1994, it was reprinted as a
classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...
by
The Feminist Press The Feminist Press (officially The Feminist Press at CUNY) is an American independent nonprofit literary publisher that promotes freedom of expression and social justice. It publishes writing by people who share an activist spirit and a belief in ...
. Brady has received awards and fellowships from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, the New York State Creative Arts Public Service program of the
New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell (1905–1996 ...
, the Briarcombe Foundation, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. In 1978, Brady founded the lesbian feminist publishing company Spinsters Ink with Judith McDaniel. As one of the oldest lesbian feminist publishers in the world, Spinsters Ink is widely regarded as a pioneering feminist institution. Brady has served as the editor of many books, including '' The Cancer Journals'' by
Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...
, Spinsters Ink (1980), and ''The Words of a Woman Who Breathes Fire: Poetry and Prose'' by Kitty Tsui, Spinsters Ink (1983). A page from one of Brady's manuscripts was included in "Statements from Lesbian Artists", which accompanied the 1978 exhibition ''A Lesbian Show.'' Curated by
Harmony Hammond Harmony Hammond (born February 8, 1944 in Hometown, Illinois) is an American artist, activist, curator, and writer. She was a prominent figure in the founding of the feminist art movement in 1970's New York. Early life and education Harmony ...
, the show was the first lesbian-identified art exhibition in the United States. Brady has taught writing at
Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...
,
Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...
, and The Resource Center for Accessible Living in
Kingston, NY Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...
. She currently teaches creative writing at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
, th
New York Writers Workshop
and th
Peripatetic Writing Workshop
Brady serves as the board president of the
Barbara Deming Memorial Fund Barbara Deming (July 23, 1917 – August 2, 1984) was an American feminist and advocate of nonviolent social change. Personal life Barbara Deming was born in New York City. She attended a ''Friends'' ( Quaker) school up through her high s ...
.


Bibliography

* ''Give Me Your Good Ear'', Spinsters Ink (1979) * ''Folly'', Feminist Press at the City University of New York (1982) * ''The Question She Put to Herself'', Crossing Press (1987) * ''Daybreak: Meditations for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse'', Hazelden Publishing (1991) *''Beyond Survival: A Writing Journey for Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse,'' HarperCollins (1992) * ''Midlife: Meditations for Wome''n, HarperCollins (1995) * ''Ginger's Fire'', Alice Street Editions/Harrington Park Press (2005) * ''Getaway'', Bacon Press Books (2018)


Anthologies

*''Lesbian Texts and Contexts: Radical Revisions,'' NYU Press (1990) *''Lovers: Stories by Women,'' Crossing Press (1992) * ''Catholic Girls'', Plume (1992) *''Contemporary Lesbian Writers of the United States: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook'', Greenwood Press (1993) *''A Loving Testimony: Remembering Loved Ones Lost to AIDS,'' Crossing Press (1995) *''Cabbage and Bones: An Anthology of Irish-American Women's Fiction'', Holt Paperbacks (1997) *''Touching Fire: Erotic Writings by Women'', Running Press (1998) *''Queer View Mirror 2: Lesbian and Gay Short Fiction'', Arsenal Pulp Press (2002) *''Queer View Mirror: Lesbian and Gay Short Fiction,'' Arsenal Pulp Press (2002)


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Maureen American lesbian writers 1943 births Living people American feminist writers Queer feminists LGBT feminists American women editors American editors Lesbian academics