The Literary Foremothers textbook is an open type of a textbook (of 225 pages) in English, namely, it is constructed as hypertext which can expand and grow, and moreover, it allows for free online access. The book offers an insight into the life and work of accomplished female literary authors who serve as a model of women’s writing and literary creation. Mihurko Poniž developed a dialogical structure, which is particularly meaningful and convincing: the eight chapters guide us into the lives of some of the most important female authors, from Sappho to Elizabeth Barett Browning and George Sand, with the book ending with the portrait of a forgotten author Laura Marholm Hansson. Even though the portrayals of the authors contain essential biographic and bibliographic data (mostly taken from fundamental lexicographical works) and Mihurko Poniž also includes video and documentary materials from other media portals (which is savvy from a didactical point of view), the included texts and exercises for students focus most distinctly on the reception of particular female writers, as seen in their successors or admirers whose work was inspired by specific female writers. At this point, the textbook moves to the level of the metaphysical, theoretical and poetological thinking, predominantly related to women’s writing and women’s literary activity and creativity.
The included texts are – considering their time of creation and distance from today’s lexica – linguistically quite demanding. The texts will possibly also sound foreign to native speakers of English, which has its advantage, namely, it calls for greater focus and a more detailed analysis. For other readers, the texts can represent a challenge already from a linguistic point of view. The textbook incorporates a set of analytical and detailed questions which call for the students’ active participation. These questions can be appropriated by the users (linguistically and based on their study environment). Even though the textbook doesn’t expose contemporary feminist women theoreticians, it offers, not only in the Introduction but also through the analyses, an insight into the essays of some of the principal literary theoreticians.
Emeritus Prof. Dr. Neva Šlibar, University of Ljubljana, Department of German, Dutch and Swedish
Literary Foremothers: Women Writers in Dialogue with Tradition of Their Own by Prof. Katja Mihurko Poniž is a textbook which consists of an introductory part and six central chapters. The chapters first present feminist theory and its search for women’s literary tradition, and then move on to authors Sappho, Aphra Behn, Maria Edgeworth, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Emily Dickinson and Virginia Woolf. These authors don’t stand alone, or in separation, rather, they are engaged in literary dialogues, displaying their interconnectedness. For instance, Aphra Behn’s importance for literary tradition is presented via Virginia Woolf’s famous statement about her in A Room of One’s Own; Emily Dickinson’s perspective on George Eliot reveals a lot about both authors. This is the method which enables students to comprehend both the concept of literary tradition and the importance of women’s literature tradition. It is structured in such way that databases connect the depicted authors, showing the liveliness of literary exchange.
Literary Foremothers: Women Writers in Dialogue with Tradition of Their Own by Prof. Katja Mihurko Poniž is a well written and carefully structured book. The author followed all the important rules in creating a textbook – the appropriate length of the lectures, the vivid and illustrating examples, theoretical framework, and provocative topics for discussion which bring to light ideas and questions for further research. The material is presented by a clear academic voice, applicable to students ranging from high school to postgraduate level. The special trait of this online textbook is the usage of the media (namely hyperlinks). The author made sure to include important and trustworthy internet sources, such as articles, videoclips, movies, databases, so that students can immediately learn more about a certain topic or term, and be inspired to look for additional material. This way, the textbook Literary Foremothers promotes both women’s writing and digital humanities.
Prof. dr. Biljana Dojčinović, University of Belgrade, Department of Comparative Literature and Literary Theory
This book is very well designed and a great example of a well documented open resource. All references are available and the Creative Commons licensing is clear.”
Jenni Hayman, EdD, Cambrian College Ontario
