Meridel Le Sueur: Biographical Sketch and Reportage

Abstract One of the most prominent women writers of the ‘30s, Le Sueur endured redbaiting, blacklisting, and 25 years of obscurity to become in the ‘70s a regional folk heroine and nearly an archetypal figure within some elements of the women’s movement. For some of the Le Sueur faithful, her work seems to deserve uncritical celebration. Yet such celebration would have us ignore historically resonant problems in her work. For the vast majority of mainstream critics, on the other hand, Le Sueur’s work merits little notice. This latter position is more damaging than the first because it denies Le Sueur’s social and historical value as well as her significant formal experiments. Le Sueur, herself, feels ambivalent about her Wonder Woman status. On one hand, she welcomes the readership and recognition that came after 25 years of obscurity and feels she has earned her self-imposed title, “Mrs. Lazarus.” Yet she also hungers for genuine criticism of her work, and she refuses the role of “St. Meridel” that some people have imposed on her (Grossmann 3D).