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AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR TILLIE OLSEN DIES Oakland, CA - Award-winning author Tillie Olsen passed away on January 1, 2007, at the age of 94. An activist who fought against the silencing of women, and for the rights of American workers, Olsen received an honorary doctor of letters degree from Mills College in 1995. Her daughter, Julie Olsen Edwards (Class of 1960) attended Mills and her granddaughter, Rebekah Edwards (Class of 1994), graduated from Mills with honors and is a lecturer in the College’s English Department. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, and a Depression-era high school dropout, Olsen made public libraries her college. She worked for 20 years as a waitress and secretary while raising her four daughters, and was nearly 50 years old when her first book, Tell Me a Riddle, was published. A collection of short stories, its title story won the coveted O. Henry Prize. She also published the novel Yonnondio: From the Thirties; Mother to Daughter, Daughter to Mother: A Daybook and Reader; and her groundbreaking book of essays, Silences. Olsen’s work has been published in 13 languages. “Mills and the world have lost a humane, valiant activist who was central to American feminist fiction,” said Mills President Janet L. Holmgren. “Tillie Olsen’s impassioned voice against the oppression of women inspired the voices of a new generation. For Olsen, art and humanity were one; her life was her work of art.” Olsen dedicated Silences to the historically silenced people—women, persons of color, and the working class—whose potential as writers was consumed in the hard, everyday work of maintaining human life. If they had been born a generation earlier, she noted, there would have been no Chekhov, Bronte sisters, Emily Dickinson, Thomas Hardy, Maxim Gorky, D.H. Lawrence, or Virginia Woolf. Olsen’s search for neglected women writers became the foundation of women’s studies, broadened the definition of literature, led to the reprinting of books by forgotten authors, and inspired renowned writers including Alice Walker, Ursula Le Guin, Sheila Ballantyne, and Maxine Hong Kingston. The website www.tillieolsen.net provides information about a public memorial to be held in late February. Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently recognized as one of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills currently ranks among the top 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges. The New York Times recently selected Mills as one of three leading California colleges for students to consider. In 2006, the Washington Monthly College Rankings named Mills a leading liberal arts college based on community service, research spending, quality of preparation for graduate education, and social mobility. In addition, The Princeton Review’s annual guide, the Best 361 Colleges (2007) included Mills for the second year in a row among top U.S. institutions offering students an outstanding undergraduate education. Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California on 135 lush acres, Mills provides a dynamic liberal arts education fostering women’s leadership, social responsibility, and creativity. PRESS CONTACT: |
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