March 31: Marge Piercy

The author of 17 novels and 17 volumes of poetry so far, Marge Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan on this date in 1936. Her writing has spanned several genres, from science fiction (Woman on the Edge of Time, 1976, and He, She and It, 1991) to revolutionary fiction (Dance the Eagle to Sleep, 1970, and Vida, 1980), always with a focus on women’s lives, shifting sexual identities, and feminist consciousness as a salvational force for humanity. Piercy’s poetry includes The Art of Blessing the Day: Poems With a Jewish Theme, 1999, which has lent passages to several modern Jewish prayerbooks. She was the first member of her family to attend college (University of Michigan) and became an activist in Students for a Democratic Society and the feminist and environmentalist movements. Along with Howard Fast and Grace Paley, Piercy is probably the best-selling writer of political fiction in our lifetimes. She lives in Cape Cod and runs Leapfrog Press with her writer husband, Ira Wood.

“Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding the third.” —Marge Piercy