{"id":70399,"date":"2018-04-27T23:31:59","date_gmt":"2018-04-28T04:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=70399"},"modified":"2018-04-27T23:31:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-28T04:31:59","slug":"meg-wolitzer-discusses-the-female-persuasion-at-women-and-children-first-bookstore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/meg-wolitzer-discusses-the-female-persuasion-at-women-and-children-first-bookstore\/","title":{"rendered":"Meg Wolitzer discusses “The Female Persuasion” at Women and Children First bookstore"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gwen Aviles<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Seating was difficult to come by at the Meg Wolitzer author talk held by Women and Children First bookstore in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago on April 24.<\/p>\n

The event was crammed with aspiring authors, feminists and aspiring feminist authors alike clamoring to get a look at literary greatness. Those who failed in the game of musical chairs were sprawled on the wooden floor with their Moleskine notebooks, craning their heads to get a peak at Wolitzer in conversation with Greta Johnson, a Chicago-based journalist and WBEZ host. When even floorspace ran low, some attendees plopped themselves on the stepping stools meant for reaching the highest bookshelves, while others leaned against bookcases. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wolitzer is the best-selling author of 12 novels, several of which have been optioned for film. Her most recent release is \u201cThe Female Persuasion,\u201d a book about female mentorship and the challenging world women inhabit. It follows Greer Kadetsky, a college freshman who finds an imperfect role model in Faith Frank, a famous feminist. <\/p>\n

Though Wolitzer started the book three years ago, it has taken on increased relevance in the era of the #MeToo movement. In the novel, Greer is sexually assaulted at a fraternity party and is unsure of how to process the attack. \u201cShe asks, did something happen to me? Am I allowed to feel upset about it? Is this what it\u2019s like entering the world of femaleness?\u201d said Wolitzer. <\/p>\n

Greer\u2019s relationship with Frank helps her understand the way society positions her as a young woman. <\/p>\n

Kim Brooks, author of the forthcoming book \u201cSmall Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear,\u201d and an attendee at the event appreciated the book’s timeliness. \u201cI thought it was really interesting the way that she contextualizes the novel in terms of the current political moment of female empowerment and solidarity,\u201d Brooks said.<\/p>\n

But while the book\u2019s action takes place from 2006 to 2019\u2014during the 2016 presidential election\u2014and was written with the sense that it would be released during the tenure of the United States\u2019 first female president, Wolitzer takes care not to mention any specific names. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to use his [President Donald Trump\u2019s] name. \u2018The Female Persuasion is not meant to be disposable fiction about this moment; it\u2019s meant to be timeless, something you can reflect on,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

She warns fiction writers not to try to keep up with writing about the current moment, because is it a near impossible task. <\/p>\n

She also offered other writing advice, like rereading novels you find inspirational even if they have nothing to do with what you\u2019re currently writing. When Wolitzer\u2019s stuck, she likes to return to the novels of Virginia Woolf and Evan S. Connell\u2019s \u201cMrs. Bridge.\u201d <\/p>\n

This was the very advice Michael Williamson, a college student studying creative writing at University of Illinois at Chicago, was looking for when he entered the doors of Women and Children First that night. <\/p>\n

\u201cAny time I see an author like this, I\u2019m always struck by their generosity. Meg is so giving with her time, despite being so tired from her book tour. For her to maintain this giving spirit is remarkable and admirable to me,\u201d Williamson said as he waited in line for Wolitzer to sign his copy of \u201cThe Female Persuasion.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hilary Marsh, a communications consultant, rummaged through her bag for her notepad where she scribbled down one line from the talk: \u201cWhat is it like?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it like to put yourself in somebody else\u2019s shoes and try to capture what it\u2019s like to be them, to be in their place in the world?\u201d Marsh said. \u201cThat\u2019s what good fiction does.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"women
Lynn Mooney, the co-owner of Women and Children First bookstore, introduces Meg Wolitzer to the crowd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Photo at top: Meg Wolitzer’s latest novel “The Female Persuasion.” (Gwen Aviles\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gwen Aviles Medill Reports Seating was difficult to come by at the Meg Wolitzer author talk held by Women and Children First bookstore in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago on April 24. The event was crammed with aspiring authors, feminists and aspiring feminist authors alike clamoring to get a look at literary greatness. Those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":474,"featured_media":70401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,28,3987],"tags":[2968,4229,2135,4114,2175,3239,4228],"class_list":["post-70399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-general-interest","category-winter-2018","tag-arts","tag-author","tag-books","tag-bookstore","tag-feminism","tag-literature","tag-meg-wolitzer"],"yoast_head":"\nMeg Wolitzer discusses "The Female Persuasion" at Women and Children First bookstore - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/meg-wolitzer-discusses-the-female-persuasion-at-women-and-children-first-bookstore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meg Wolitzer discusses "The Female Persuasion" at Women and Children First bookstore - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Gwen Aviles Medill Reports Seating was difficult to come by at the Meg Wolitzer author talk held by Women and Children First bookstore in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago on April 24. 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