Weekend Writing: Celebrating Virginia Woolf

I was pleasantly surprised to see Virginia Woolf as Thursday's Google Doodle image, celebrating what would have been her 136th birthday. I said, "Oh, yay! A Google Doodle I actually know!"

Google's Doodle image to celebrate Virginia Woolf's birthday (photo/Daily Mirror).

Born on January 25, 1882, Virginia Woolf is considered one of the most influential modernist authors of the 20th century. Her early life was infused with creative connections, as her parents were prominent figures in London's literary circuit. She began writing professionally in 1900 and published her first novel, The Voyage Out, in 1915 through the Hogarth Press, a publishing house she established with her husband, Leonard Woolf.

Her most well-known works include Mrs. Dalloway (published in 1925), To the Lighthouse (published in 1927), Orlando (published in 1928), and her feminist book-length essay, A Room of One's Own (published in 1929), where she writes, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." Good advice, Virginia.

(photo/AZ Quotes)

Virginia Woolf is known to inspire many other women writers in literature, including Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale. In the 1970s, Woolf became one of the central subjects of feminist criticism, mostly because her works (especially A Room of One's Own) have been known to inspire feminism. Her works address fundamental issues relating to women writers. She tells women to write freely and in their own space...and to this day, we do just that. We write without fear.

We thank you, Virginia Woolf. Thank you for telling the truth...and for inspiring so many women, including myself. Readers, go out and read her work. She wrote for you, so listen to what she had to say.

-KJL-