Empowerment Archive

An archive dedicated to combating the erasure of women and nonbinary writers throughout time.

[empowermentarchive]

Corrine Manning

Pronouns - They/Them

Blurb:

Corrine Manning refers to themself as “A writer who explores the difference between desire and longing to make sense of queer identity and the American state of violence and whiteness,” (Manning). They are currently based out of Seattle, and have published several story collections as well as several essays. They also work as an editor and a teaching artist. To learn more and/or show support see the links below.

Works:

We Had No Rules (book)

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50609268-we-had-no-rules

Works Cited:

http://www.corinnemanning.com

https://www.pw.org/content/corinne_manning

https://corinnemanning.tumblr.com/About

(picture)

https://twitter.com/corinnemanning

[empowermentarchive]

George M. Johnson

Pronouns - They/Them

Blurb:

George M. Johnson is a writer, activist, and author based out of Brooklyn, New York. They identify as non-binary and have written several pieces on their experiences with gender, sex, and race. Johnson’s writings are a source of support to non-binary and gender nonconforming readers, as well as those who are working to better understand the world around them and to combat their blind spots. For more information and to show support, see the links below.

Works:

All Boys Aren’t Blue (book)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44280883-all-boys-aren-t-blue

We are Not Broken (book)

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56622183-we-are-not-broken

Works Cited:

https://iamgmjohnson.com

https://us.macmillan.com/author/georgemjohnson

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/27/george-m-johnson-queer-characters-tend-to-die-at-the-end-of-books

(picture)

https://mobile.twitter.com/iamgmjohnson

[empowermentarchive]

Lexie Bean

Pronouns - He/They

Blurb:

Lexie Bean is a writer, actor, and artist in Queens, New York. Bean is well known for their writing for feminist platforms, as well as their own works. Bean has created a name for themself through their anthologies which are dedicated to rebuilding and reclaiming ones body after sexual assault. For more information and to show support, see the links below.

Works:

The Ship We Built (children's book)

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/607386/the-ship-we-built-by-lexie-bean/

Portable Homes (collection)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19503727-portable-homes

Written on the Body: Letters from Trans and Nonbinary Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence (collection)

https://bookshop.org/books/written-on-the-body-letters-from-trans-and-non-binary-survivors-of-sexual-assault-and-domestic-violence/9781785927973?gclid=CjwKCAjwxZqSBhAHEiwASr9n9NO29EDu3qHxd3XN5tFN8APF9-pOolxffXjQOh-JG_6F-dWdbV4a5hoCLBQQAvD_BwE

Works Cited:

http://www.lexiebean.com/home.html

https://www.them.us/contributor/lexie-bean

https://lambdaliterary.org/2019/05/lexie-bean-letters-body/

(picture)

https://lambdaliterary.org/2019/05/lexie-bean-letters-body/

[empowermentarchive]

Katharine Burdekin

Pseudonym - Murray Constantine

1896 - 1963

Blurb:

Katharine Burdekin was born on July 23, 1896 in Spondon, Derby, in the United Kingdom. Burdekin was a pioneer in the writing of science fiction. She chose to write under a pseudonym. This allowed Burdekin to explore more controversial topics such as politics and the bounds of gender. Burdekin’s dystopian works shocked and appalled many, at the same time as bringing awareness to world issues, especially in reference to the problems of women.

Works:

Swastika Night (novel)

http://www.unife.it/letterefilosofia/comunicazione/insegnamenti/i-volti-di-utopia-letteratura-arte-e-politica/materiale-didattico/katharine-burdekin-swastika-night-1937.pdf

Proud Man (novel)

The end of this day’s business (novel)

Works Cited:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/burdekin-katharine-1896-1963

https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/burdekin_katharine

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/91057/pioneering-female-sci-fi-writer-whose-identity-was-kept-secret-50-years

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https://www.scoopnest.com/es/user/NacionalAM870/1151664456109309954-laescondida-hindelitacuenta-la-historia-de-la-escritora-katharine-burdekin-con-el-nombre-de-varn-de

[empowermentarchive]

Violet Paget

Pseudonym - Vernon Lee

1856 - 1935

Blurb:

Violet Paget was born on October 14, 1856 in France. While it is widely acknowledged that the reasoning for writing under a pseudonym was to ensure that a woman’s work was given a serious chance, it has also been speculated that Paget may have been a part of the LGBTQ+ community. There is much discourse on whether or not the names of women writers should be “reclaimed” in such a way. I maintain that it is important to respect chosen names. However, as this is all conjecture, awareness of Paget’s roots is important as well.

Works:

The Beautiful: An Introduction to Psychological Aesthetics (collection of writings)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/26942/26942-h/26942-h.htm

Hauntings (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/9956/pg9956.html

A Phantom Lover (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8180/pg8180.html

Works Cited:

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/04/03/between-me-and-my-real-self-on-vernon-lee/

https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/paget-violet-1856-1935

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https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/04/03/between-me-and-my-real-self-on-vernon-lee/

[empowermentarchive]

Louisa May Alcott

Pseudonym - A.M. Barnard

1832 - 1888

Blurb:

Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She chose to write under a pseudonym in order to have the freedom to write about things which did not reflect who she was as a person. This ensured that her image and character as a woman of this time was preserved. She was accomplished as a writer, even at the age of 17. She is best known for her work “Little Women”, a story which was based on her own life.

Works:

Little Women (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/514/514-h/514-h.htm

Little Men (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2788/2788-h/2788-h.htm

Jo’s Boys (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3499/3499-h/3499-h.htm

Works Cited:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louisa-May-Alcott

https://bwht.org/louisa-may-alcott/

https://electricliterature.com/louisa-may-alcott-lost-story-rediscovered-juvenilia-aunt-nellies-diary/

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https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0017301/

[empowermentarchive]

Alice Bradley Sheldon

Pseudonym - James Tiptree Jr.

1915 - 1987

Blurb:

Alice Bradley Sheldon was born August 24, 1915 in Chicago, Illinois. She chose to write under her pseudonym because “I’ve had too many experiences in my life of being the first woman in some damned occupation,” (Sheldon). She was clever, well educated, and highly intelligent. She also worked for the CIA. Sheldon’s writing was heralded as being the epitome of masculine writing. As James Tiptree Jr., Sheldon was considered an anomaly as a male writer who understood the lives of women.

Works:

And I awoke and find me here on the cold hill’s side (short story)

http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/and-i-awoke-and-found-me-here-on-the-cold-hills-side/

Love is the plan, the plan is death (short story)

http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/love-is-the-plan-the-plan-is-death/

Works Cited:

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6468136

https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Tiptree-Jr

https://daily.jstor.org/the-woman-behind-james-tiptree-jr/

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https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6468136

[empowermentarchive]

Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin

Pseudonym - George Sand

1804 - 1876

Blurb:

Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin was born July 1, 1804, in Paris, France. She chose to write under a pseudonym because it better suited her work and increased the likelihood that her writings would be respected. Dupin had a well rounded view of the world and found happiness in her writings, nature, art, and music. She was also known to wear men’s clothing, especially while riding horseback. It is notable, though not a defining quality, that Dupin had a brief relationship with the famous composer Frederic Chopin.

Works:

La Mare au Diable (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/23582/pg23582.html

Francois la Champi (novel)

https://freeditorial.com/en/books/francois-le-champi/readonline

La Petite Fadette (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34204/34204-h/34204-h.htm

Works Cited:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Sand

https://womennart.com/2019/05/08/who-was-george-sand/

https://www.notablebiographies.com/Ro-Sc/Sand-George.html

(picture)

https://www.historyandwomen.com/2020/07/george-sand-amantine-lucile-aurore.html

[empowermentarchive]

Mary Ann Evans

Pseudonym - George Eliot

1819 - 1880

Blurb:

Mary Ann Evans was born on November 22, 1819 in England. Evans chose to write under pseudonym in order to ensure her works would be judged based on merit rather than on the gender of their author. At the same time, Evans was involved in a relationship with a married man, George Henry Lewes. This contributed to Evans’ decision to remain anonymous as an author in order to preserve her own anonymity. She chose the first name of her pseudonym, “George”, in honor of her lover. She chose “Eliot” because it was “a good mouth-filling, easily pronounced word,” (Evans). To this day, Mary Ann Evans is more widely known as George Eliot as opposed to the name she was given at birth.

Works:

Middlemarch (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/145/145-h/145-h.htm

The Lifted Veil (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2165/2165-h/2165-h.htm

Daniel Deronda (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7469/7469-h/7469-h.htm

Works Cited:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Eliot

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/blog/post/4535

http://writersinspire.org/content/george-eliot-0

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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/21/the-guardian-view-on-george-eliot-a-novelist-for-now

[empowermentarchive]

Anne Bronte

Pseudonym - Acton Bell

1816 - 1855

Blurb:

Anne Bronte was born January 17, 1820 in Thornton, Yorkshire England. She chose to write under a pseudonym in order to protect her own privacy as well as to ensure her own literary freedom. In writing her novel Agnes Grey, Bronte worked closely with what she knew as a woman, drawing on inspiration from her own life. Anne Bronte was perhaps the least well documented of the three Bronte sisters. However, literary critics such as George Moore claimed that Anne Bronte could have gone on to be on par with Jane Austen.

Works:

Agnes Grey (novel) 

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/767/767-h/767-h.htm

A dreadful darkness closes in (poem)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46295/a-dreadful-darkness-closes-in

A Reminiscence (poem)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43709/a-reminiscence

Works Cited:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anne-Bronte

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/anne-bronte

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/06/anne-bronte-agnes-grey-jane-eyre-charlotte

https://theconversation.com/elena-ferrante-charlotte-bronte-and-how-anonymity-protects-against-female-writing-stereotypes-66500#:~:text=The%20Bront%C3%AB%20sisters%20published%20their,privacy%20and%20to%20eschew%20celebrity.

(picture)

https://mypoeticside.com/poets/anne-bronte-poems

[empowermentarchive]

Emily Bronte

Pseudonym - Ellis Bell

1818 - 1848

Blurb:

Emily Bronte was born on July 30th, 1818 in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. Bronte chose to write under a male pseudonym in order to preserve her own anonymity as a writer, as well as to give her novel, (Wuthering Heights), a fighting chance. Bronte also wrote several poems in a book of poetry written between the three Bronte sisters. In its time, Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights was criticized for its strong portrayal of women, as was in direct contrast to the general societal understanding of women of the time.

Works:

Wuthering Heights (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/768/768-h/768-h.htm

Fall, leaves, Fall (poem)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52330/fall-leaves-fall

The night is darkening round me (poem)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43711/the-night-is-darkening-round-me

Works Cited:

https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/emily-bront

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-bronte

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/who-wrote-wuthering-heights-1.4305162

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https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/emily-bront

[empowermentarchive]

Charlotte Bronte

Pseudonym - Currer Bell  

1816 - 1855

Blurb:

Charlotte Bronte was born on April 21, 1816 in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. Bronte chose to write under a male pseudonym not only to conceal her identity as a writer, but also to ensure that her work was judged on the basis of its merit rather than the gender of its author. A famous quote of hers reads “I am neither a man nor a woman but an author”. This also suggests an inclination towards rejecting the boundaries of gender and societal expectation, a thought which was leagues ahead of its time in Victorian England.

For further information on the life and works of Charlotte Bronte, see the links below.

Works:

Jane Eyre (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm

Villette (novel)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/9182/9182-h/9182-h.htm

On the Death of Anne Bronte (poem)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43710/on-the-death-of-anne-bronte

Works Cited:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/charlotte-bronte

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chahttps://lucciagray.com/2017/03/08/women-writers-who-used-male-pen-names-internationalwomensday-wwwblogs/rlotte-Bronte

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https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/12/unseen-charlotte-bronte-story-and-poem-discovered