I'm sorry, but I thought this might be one of her actual "works," not an essay about women and writing and her feelings about women and life and whatnot. I might enjoy this more after I've read some of her fiction. As it is, I've never read her, and hope KCLS has some in large print.

Glad I finally got to read this classic, especially contrasted against the rich tapestry that women writers weave today. In many ways, Woolf's impassioned fight for women's right to an income of her own/financial stability and cherished private space to reflect and create has come true; she wrote these lyrical essays back in 1928 (she's very humorous as she describes her encounters with the university beadles). In some ways, it's still an ongoing fight (fair pay, better gender balance at home with partners, equal representation in politics and the workplace, freedom from violence, etc.) but at least these issues are out in the open and easier to resolve (or "shrink", as the following passage illustrates: "Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size....if she begins to tell the truth, the figure in the looking glass shrinks.")

What an incredibly interesting woman of her time. It was a privilege and a pleasure to be privy to her inner thoughts. She is so beautifully expressive that it made me quite emotional in places.

The prose, the talk of feminism, women and art; I loved.

A brilliant classic, poignantly profound and relevant for its time, while also being way ahead of its time. This timely and timeless talk turned essay, offered to women at Cambridge, by Virginia Woolf, nearly a century ago is still quite a timely testament for today's girls and women, and any caring creative human being who wishes to retain and express their heart and mind, in spite of their limit of income, time and other worldly resources. Enjoy!

semi-autobiographical; historical slice of life; extended essay