Ethel Barrymore’s Stifling Familial Obligation
Kathleen Spaltro’s biography of Ethel Barrymore explores how her acceptance of her familial fate as a serious actor came at great cost to her creativity.
Gabrielle Stecher
Gabrielle Stecher Woodward (Ph.D., University of Georgia) is a Lecturer and Associate Director of Undergraduate Teaching in the Department of English at Indiana University Bloomington. Her interdisciplinary research and teaching interests include the stories we tell about women artists, primarily from the 19th century to the present. Her portfolio is located at www.gabriellestecher.com.
‘The World According to Joan Didion’ Can’t Get Through the Locked Door
Evelyn McDonnell’s Joan Didion biography can’t get through the writer’s “locked door”, but it’s useful for conversations about the forms and ethics of criticism.
The ABCs of Barbara Stanwyck
The “ABC” structure and diverse archival material in The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck make it among the most interesting texts released in 2023.
New Bio Explores What Fueled Joan Crawford’s ‘Ferocious Ambition’
Was Joan Crawford self-made or industry-made? Biographer Robert Dance explores what fueled the Hollywood star in Ferocious Ambition.
To Ride Into ‘Paradise’: Lana Del Rey’s EP at 10
What’s most striking about Lana Del Rey’s Paradise EP and its music videos, are the ways they cement her transgressive and hallucinatory aesthetic.