August 26 – Happy Birthday, Zona Gale

Posted on August 26, 2016


It's so wonderfully appropriate that Zona Gale was born on August 26 (1874), because eventually, on her 46th birthday, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote. These days, August 26 is Women's Equality Day (see links to write-ups below!).

It's wonderfully appropriate because author Zona Gale worked hard for women's rights: She was an active member of the National Women's Party and a member of the executive committee of the Lucy Stone League. She lobbied – a lot - for the Wisconsin Equal Rights Law.

A year after Gale (and other American women) finally won the right to vote, she won something no other woman had won before: the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Gale was highly educated. At a time when most people didn't go to university, she earned a Bachelor of Literature degree and a Master's degree.

Zona Gale wrote novels, short stories, plays, a smattering of poetry, and some non-fiction. One of the biggest non-fiction projects she undertook was writing a biography of Frank Miller, the founder of the famous Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside, California. That hotel is only about half an hour away, and well worth a visit – especially at Christmas time.

Gale didn't get married until she was 54 years old – an unusual circumstance that is likely the result of a lot of unusual choices.

I read in Wikipedia that Gale's activism on behalf of women was spurred by a problem she often explored in her fiction: “women's frustration at their lack of opportunities.” 

Now for a little Zona Gale wisdom:






Also on this date:











National Dog Day














Women's Equality Day here...




...and here






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