• Home
  • Full Circle Blog
  • Selected Publications
    • Publications Archive
  • In the News

Donna Swarthout

~ Writer, Editor, Berliner

Donna Swarthout

Tag Archives: Virginia Woolf

What A Woman Needs…..

18 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by Donna Swarthout in Inspiration

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Berlin, German citizenship, German Jews, Jewish identity, Virginia Woolf

During a brief visit to the Baltic Sea last week I sought inspiration for my nascent writing career from Virginia’s Woolf’s classic A Room of One’s Own.  Books can remain on the “must read” list for a long time, sometimes years, until there is an event that triggers the impulse to slip them off the shelf and onto our nightstand.  In this case it was the sense of being smothered by my three boisterous kids and my XXL husband in our small apartment.  Since I can’t seem to pluck my eyebrows or put on my pajamas with any measure of privacy, it seemed a good time to seek guidance from a great writer who didn’t shy away from touting the material needs of a woman who has creative aspirations.

Money and privacy are what a woman needs to produce great works, says Virginia.  This was no trivial claim to make nearly 100 years ago, especially as she looked back through the years and pondered why so few women had been writers. These days I struggle to find the physical and mental space to express myself.  And when I do create a written work, I face one of the other great challenges Virgina Woolf wrote about  — “the world’s notorious indifference.”  The world “does not ask people to write poems and novels and histories; it does not need them,” she says.  Yes, I sometimes succumb to moments of doubt and discouragement about whether my voice will be heard in the world.

But writing about my experiences as a German American Jewish woman in Berlin has inspired me to discover and share the stories of others who have reclaimed their German citizenship.  I hope to put a book proposal together in the coming months.  I derive courage from Virgina Woolf and her assertion that “a thousand pens are ready to suggest what you should do and what effect you will have.” I am also fortunate that the Jewish Writing Project has been a great source of encouragement and has graciously offered to share some of my work with its readers.  Here is a link to a recent essay about my evolving identity: http://jewishwritingproject.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/the-tapestry-of-self/.

Recent Posts

  • Immigration Equity Then and Now
  • German Citizenship – The Next Decade
  • From the Shadows to the Light

Categories

  • Article 116 Citizenship
  • European Jewry
  • Holocaust Memorials
  • Inspiration
  • Jewish Holidays and Rituals
  • Jewish Identity and Modern Germany
  • My German Jewish Family
  • Uncategorized

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Tags

AfD Alternative for Germany Altwiedermus American Jews Angela Merkel anti-Semitism Archetyp Cafe Article 116 AVIVA-Berlin Bar Mitzvah Berlin Berlin-Brandenburg Berlin Wall Biebesheim Chanukah David Grossman diaspora Diaspora Jews die mishpocha drinking age dual citizenship Frankfurt Jews German bureaucracy German citizenship German exports German Jews Germany Germany Close Up Gleis 17 Gutshof Gatow Hamburg Hessen Jews Holocaust Holocaust Claims Processing Office Israel Jewish community Jewish Community of Berlin Jewish identity Jewish migration Jewish Sabbath Jewish Stammtisch Jews John F. Kennedy School Berlin Judaism Judith Kerr Juedische Gemeinde zu Berlin Juedisches Waisenhaus Kidane Mehret Kindergeld Kreuzberg Liepnitzsee Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe Menorahs Moses Mendelssohn Nazi Forced Labor Camps Neo-Nazis Neue Synagoge Obermayer Awards Ohel Hachidusch Olivia Swarthout Oranienburger Synagogue Passover Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue Reform Judaism refugees Rilke Russian Jews second generation Stiftung Zurückgeben stolpersteine storytelling third generation trade surplus Virginia Woolf Wiesbaden

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Donna Swarthout
    • Join 117 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Donna Swarthout
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...