![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help
improve it or discuss these issues on the
talk page. (
Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Rosemary Daniell | |
---|---|
Born | Rosemary Hughes November 29, 1935 Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
Occupation | Poet, Author, Teacher |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Period | 1975-present |
Genre | Poetry, Non-fiction, Fiction |
Notable works | A Sexual Tour of the Deep South, Fatal Flowers, Sleeping with Soldiers |
Spouse | Laurens Ramos (m.1952; div, 1955) Sidney S. Daniell (m. 1956; div 1968) Jonathan S. Coppelman (m. 1969; div 1976) Timothy Zane Ward (m.1987) |
Children | Laurens David Ramos (born, 1952; died, 2009),Laura Christine Daniell (born, 1957, died 2022), Darcy Anne Daniell (born, 1959; died, 2020) |
Rosemary Daniell (born November 29, 1935) is an American second-wave feminist poet and author. She is known for her controversial poetry collection, "An Acting Tour of the Deep South," as well as her memoirs "Fatal Flowers: On Sin, Sex, and Suicide in the Deep South" and "Sleeping with Soldiers: In Search of the Macho Man." [1] [2]
Born Rosemary Hughes in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 29, 1935, Daniell is the older of two daughters born to Melissa Ruth Connell and Parker McDonald Hughes. Following her family's move to Tucker, Georgia, Daniell dropped out of Tucker High School at the age of 16 to marry her first husband, Laurens Ramos. [3]
Daniell has authored ten books of poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction; appeared on various national television and radio shows; and lectured at numerous literary venues. Her work has been featured in more than 32 literary and small press publications, 20 magazines, and 19 anthologies, as well as theater and mixed media productions. [3] Daniell's 1969 article The Feminine Frustration was published in the June 1970 issue of Atlanta Magazine, the first trade magazine article to cover second-wave feminism in the Southeast. [4]
In 1975, Daniell's mother died by suicide and her father died of cancer. That same year, she published her first book of poetry, A Sexual Tour of the Deep South, a book which stirred controversy in the Bible Belt but was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best works of feminist literature of the era. [3] [5] While her poetry collection The Feathered Trees, published the following year, focused mostly on nature, Daniell's subsequent book Fort Bragg & Other Points South (1988) saw her return to writing about women's sexual experiences. [3] [6]
While Daniell criticizes the traditional role of the Southern woman, her writing does not attack the South but rather exposes the mythology of the Southern woman and provides a reinterpretation of the South. She breaks the silence about women's private lives - anger and sex - and in the process addresses the myth of the South as a region of moral degeneration and libido. [3] [6]
Her first memoir, Fatal Flowers: On Sin, Sex, and Suicide in the Deep South (1980), was partially inspired by both her mother's unrealized talents as a writer and her subsequent suicide. Fatal Flowers describes the year Daniell's parents died and her extended period of sexual experimentation following the loss, ending when she founded the Zona Rosa writing group and met the man who was to become her fourth husband. [6] Daniell examines the mythology of the Southern woman: "materialistic, often the wife of a powerful man, always serving as a perfect hostess, and one loyal to her home and land." [ citation needed]. She argues that these stereotypes both inhibit women's freedom and stunt their personal growth, thus hindering the expression of their creativity. [3]
Daniell's second memoir, Sleeping with Soldiers (1985), draws from her experience working as one of the first women on an oil rig. She describes the men she's attracted to as " macho men": physically strong and courageous risk-takers "who communicate viscerally and emotionally rather than intellectually." [3]
A self-described " high-school dropout," [7] Daniell has said of her work: "During a bout with postpartum depression, I saw the flyer listing a Modern Poetry class in Emory University... I knew I — a high school dropout and literary virgin who had never heard of T.S. Eliot or Emily Dickinson — was meant to be there[ citation needed].
Before long, she was invited to join a poetry group made up primarily of Emory professors, and which the well-known poet James Dickey soon joined to lead. "When I began reading some new poets - Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath - [I] was stunned by both their virtuosity and their accuracy. But when I told Dickey how much I liked these new poets, he was angry, saying, They're just shrill, hysterical females who write about throwing their abortions in the gutter. Then I began to ask, who is Dickey - or any man - to say what is right about women's experiences? From that point forward my writing began to change… I now began to write directly out of my experience as a woman... I broke the taboo with which I and all the Southern women I knew had been brought up: never speak directly about anger or sexuality." [6] [5] Daniell's contributions to second-wave feminism [4] are profiled in the book Feminists Who Changed America,1963-1975 by Barbara J. Love, editor and foreword by Nancy F. Cott. In 1981, Daniell founded a series of creative writing workshops for women in Savannah, Georgia.
Daniell's first book about her workshops, The Woman Who Spilled Words All Over Herself: Writing and the Zona Rosa Way, was published by Faber and Faber in 1997; her second book about the writing workshops, Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives, was published by Henry Holt in 2006.
Daniell was awarded the Governor's Award in the Humanities in 2008 for her contributions to Georgia's literary heritage. [3]
In the 1970s, Daniell became involved in activities that encouraged the appreciation of writers and writing. During 1971 - 72, she served as Director of Poetry in the Schools, a joint program of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia State Council for the Arts, a national program that allowed students to work with published poets. During that time, she initiated and led a number of writing workshops in various locations, including the Georgia Correctional Institute for Women, and the Wyoming Women's Center in Lusk, Wyoming. [3]
Daniell's writing workshops have served thousands of people across America and Europe and have been profiled by People and Southern Living. [3] [7] To date, over 400 participants have become published authors, and many have won literary awards. John Berendt attended the Savannah Zona Rosa group for feedback on parts of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Pat Conroy was a frequent visitor, as is New York Times best-selling author Bruce Feiler. New York editor and author Lauren Marino has taken part in recently Zona Rosa workshops.
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help
improve it or discuss these issues on the
talk page. (
Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Rosemary Daniell | |
---|---|
Born | Rosemary Hughes November 29, 1935 Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
Occupation | Poet, Author, Teacher |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Period | 1975-present |
Genre | Poetry, Non-fiction, Fiction |
Notable works | A Sexual Tour of the Deep South, Fatal Flowers, Sleeping with Soldiers |
Spouse | Laurens Ramos (m.1952; div, 1955) Sidney S. Daniell (m. 1956; div 1968) Jonathan S. Coppelman (m. 1969; div 1976) Timothy Zane Ward (m.1987) |
Children | Laurens David Ramos (born, 1952; died, 2009),Laura Christine Daniell (born, 1957, died 2022), Darcy Anne Daniell (born, 1959; died, 2020) |
Rosemary Daniell (born November 29, 1935) is an American second-wave feminist poet and author. She is known for her controversial poetry collection, "An Acting Tour of the Deep South," as well as her memoirs "Fatal Flowers: On Sin, Sex, and Suicide in the Deep South" and "Sleeping with Soldiers: In Search of the Macho Man." [1] [2]
Born Rosemary Hughes in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 29, 1935, Daniell is the older of two daughters born to Melissa Ruth Connell and Parker McDonald Hughes. Following her family's move to Tucker, Georgia, Daniell dropped out of Tucker High School at the age of 16 to marry her first husband, Laurens Ramos. [3]
Daniell has authored ten books of poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction; appeared on various national television and radio shows; and lectured at numerous literary venues. Her work has been featured in more than 32 literary and small press publications, 20 magazines, and 19 anthologies, as well as theater and mixed media productions. [3] Daniell's 1969 article The Feminine Frustration was published in the June 1970 issue of Atlanta Magazine, the first trade magazine article to cover second-wave feminism in the Southeast. [4]
In 1975, Daniell's mother died by suicide and her father died of cancer. That same year, she published her first book of poetry, A Sexual Tour of the Deep South, a book which stirred controversy in the Bible Belt but was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best works of feminist literature of the era. [3] [5] While her poetry collection The Feathered Trees, published the following year, focused mostly on nature, Daniell's subsequent book Fort Bragg & Other Points South (1988) saw her return to writing about women's sexual experiences. [3] [6]
While Daniell criticizes the traditional role of the Southern woman, her writing does not attack the South but rather exposes the mythology of the Southern woman and provides a reinterpretation of the South. She breaks the silence about women's private lives - anger and sex - and in the process addresses the myth of the South as a region of moral degeneration and libido. [3] [6]
Her first memoir, Fatal Flowers: On Sin, Sex, and Suicide in the Deep South (1980), was partially inspired by both her mother's unrealized talents as a writer and her subsequent suicide. Fatal Flowers describes the year Daniell's parents died and her extended period of sexual experimentation following the loss, ending when she founded the Zona Rosa writing group and met the man who was to become her fourth husband. [6] Daniell examines the mythology of the Southern woman: "materialistic, often the wife of a powerful man, always serving as a perfect hostess, and one loyal to her home and land." [ citation needed]. She argues that these stereotypes both inhibit women's freedom and stunt their personal growth, thus hindering the expression of their creativity. [3]
Daniell's second memoir, Sleeping with Soldiers (1985), draws from her experience working as one of the first women on an oil rig. She describes the men she's attracted to as " macho men": physically strong and courageous risk-takers "who communicate viscerally and emotionally rather than intellectually." [3]
A self-described " high-school dropout," [7] Daniell has said of her work: "During a bout with postpartum depression, I saw the flyer listing a Modern Poetry class in Emory University... I knew I — a high school dropout and literary virgin who had never heard of T.S. Eliot or Emily Dickinson — was meant to be there[ citation needed].
Before long, she was invited to join a poetry group made up primarily of Emory professors, and which the well-known poet James Dickey soon joined to lead. "When I began reading some new poets - Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath - [I] was stunned by both their virtuosity and their accuracy. But when I told Dickey how much I liked these new poets, he was angry, saying, They're just shrill, hysterical females who write about throwing their abortions in the gutter. Then I began to ask, who is Dickey - or any man - to say what is right about women's experiences? From that point forward my writing began to change… I now began to write directly out of my experience as a woman... I broke the taboo with which I and all the Southern women I knew had been brought up: never speak directly about anger or sexuality." [6] [5] Daniell's contributions to second-wave feminism [4] are profiled in the book Feminists Who Changed America,1963-1975 by Barbara J. Love, editor and foreword by Nancy F. Cott. In 1981, Daniell founded a series of creative writing workshops for women in Savannah, Georgia.
Daniell's first book about her workshops, The Woman Who Spilled Words All Over Herself: Writing and the Zona Rosa Way, was published by Faber and Faber in 1997; her second book about the writing workshops, Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives, was published by Henry Holt in 2006.
Daniell was awarded the Governor's Award in the Humanities in 2008 for her contributions to Georgia's literary heritage. [3]
In the 1970s, Daniell became involved in activities that encouraged the appreciation of writers and writing. During 1971 - 72, she served as Director of Poetry in the Schools, a joint program of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia State Council for the Arts, a national program that allowed students to work with published poets. During that time, she initiated and led a number of writing workshops in various locations, including the Georgia Correctional Institute for Women, and the Wyoming Women's Center in Lusk, Wyoming. [3]
Daniell's writing workshops have served thousands of people across America and Europe and have been profiled by People and Southern Living. [3] [7] To date, over 400 participants have become published authors, and many have won literary awards. John Berendt attended the Savannah Zona Rosa group for feedback on parts of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Pat Conroy was a frequent visitor, as is New York Times best-selling author Bruce Feiler. New York editor and author Lauren Marino has taken part in recently Zona Rosa workshops.