Chapter 1: Parents and Children Tillie Olsen

Tillie Olsen (1913? - )

Olsen was born in 1912 or 1913 in Nebraska to Russian Jewish parents who came to America after the failed revolution of 1905. Like her parents, Olsen was a committed Socialist working for social change. Upon leaving school in the eleventh grade, Olsen worked as an unskilled laborer until her first child was born in 1931. In the following year she moved to San Francisco where she became a professional writer. Now recognized as a founder of the Women's Movement, she continues to fight for women's rights and other progressive causes. For more on the history of feminism in America, see the Cline Library's "Resources for Women's Studies" page. "I Stand Here Ironing" appeared in Olsen's collection of short stories, Tell Me a Riddle (1961). Set in the Great Depression, the story presents a powerful, first-person account of the difficulties working-class women faced as both parents and laborers. For links to resources on the Depression, see "The Great Depression" page. Olsen has also produced a novel, Yonnondio, which was written in 1934 but not published until 1974, and a number of political tracts. Her collected essays and lectures are published in Silences (1978). She now lives in Berkeley, California. Author Links Nebraska Center for Writers: Tillie Olsen This site provides basic information on Olsen as well as links to a bibliography, selections of her work, quotations, an interview, and commentary.

"I Stand Here Ironing" Nebraska Center for Writers: Tillie Olsen

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