That Julian of Norwich! All shall be well, according to her, and indeed it was the other day. I saw an email from a friend I hadn’t had contact with in years. Work, motherhood, moving thousands of miles away–all these had separated us–though not our hearts. Hélène and I worked together when we were young … More How Julian of Norwich still works miracles

I’m delighted to announce that A Medieval Woman’s Companion: Women’s Lives in the European Middle Ages has been awarded a number of honors. Winner: Gold Medal in College Nonfiction from Literary Classics as well as being awarded a Seal of Approval. Their review, which you can read in full here, calls the book “Compelling…fascinating.” It … More Awards: Gold Medal in College Nonfiction and Bronze Medal in Women’s Studies

Amazed and delighted that A Medieval Woman’s Companion has been selected as a Finalist for the 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in 3 categories: Adult Nonfiction; Women’s Studies; and Young Adult Nonfiction.

The students in my class, The Sounds of Silence: A Biodiversity of Mute and Quiet Women in a World of Brutal Noise,* made silence erotic. The best example of this is Ria Stubbs-Trevino’s funny and profound scrapbook, “My Hot Date With a Book: A Modern Tale of Young Love.” Ria wrote a paper to accompany … More Making Silence Erotic

The students in my class, The Sounds of Silence: A Biodiversity of Mute and Quiet Women in a World of Brutal Noise,* made silence move into films. Grad student Angela Allen made three short films about Griselda, a tragically silenced figure who fascinated Boccaccio, Petrarch, Chaucer, and Christine de Pizan. Here are Angela’s films. To … More Making Silence Move-ie

The students in my class, The Sounds of Silence: A Biodiversity of Mute and Quiet Women in a World of Brutal Noise,* made silence poetic, showing that #ShePersisted has long been true for women’s lives. From a reimagining of Jane Eyre meeting Antoinette, Rochester’s first wife, to a slave narrative, as well as a version … More Making Silence Poetic

My student, poet Emily Beyda, built her own loom and wove her final poem using binary code for her final project.  Emily, a fantastic poet and weaver of warp and woof, made a lovely white tapestry. Her poem is based on the sole extant poem by the Greek Erinna, who lived around 300 BCE. Emily … More Making Silence Tactile (Part 2)

My student, Corene Studstill, crocheted her final project for my class on silence and women. The class, called The Sounds of Silence: A Biodiversity of Mute and Quiet Women in a World of Brutal Noise,* has been a joy to teach. I’ve learned so much from my amazing students who had the option of writing … More Making Silence Tactile (Part 1)

Germanophiles! I’ll be helping Rebecca Schuman launch her new memoir at Malvern Books on April 14, 2017 at 7 p.m. I’ll be talking about Germanic legendary and historic women.

My students in my class, The Sounds of Silence: A Biodiversity of Quiet Women in a World of Brutal Noise,* made silence harmonic. Alejandro Miramontes’ beautiful song, “Lost in Times of Hardship,” braids the stories of Griselda (from Boccaccio’s Decameron, Chaucer’s Clerk’s Tale, and Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies), the … More Making Silence Musical