Sandra M. Gilbert

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Sandra M. Gilbert (Identities and Issues in Literature)

Author Profile

Sandra Gilbert, a poet and literary critic, was educated at Cornell University, New York University, and Columbia University. She has taught at numerous colleges and universities, including Indiana University, Princeton University, and the University of California, Davis. Gilbert and Gubar began collaborating on literary criticism in the mid-1970’s while both taught at Indiana University. Each had previously published extensively, but their discussions led them to new discoveries about literature. The excitement generated by their joint exploration of the subject matter is evident throughout the volumes they have produced as a team. After Sandra Gilbert left Indiana in 1975, she and Susan Gubar continued working together through phone calls and extensive travel. The focus in their writing on women writers’ sense of identity reflects the women’s movement’s attempts to redefine women’s place in society. Gilbert and Gubar’s persuasive arguments that literary works reflect the time and culture in which they are written, as well as the gender of the author, helped to revolutionize literary criticism. Many previous critical schools treated works of literature as timeless monuments to human greatness. Gilbert and Gubar’s collaborative method embodies the ideal of solidarity between women, which is central to the women’s movement.

Bibliography

Cain, William E., ed. Making Feminist History: The Literary Scholarship of Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: Garland, 1994. The critical essays in this collection are introduced by a discussion of major themes in feminist theory and practice. Also includes two pieces by Gilbert and Gubar.

Gilbert, Sandra M. “A Conversation with Sandra M. Gilbert.” Interview by Garrett Hongo and Catherine Parke. The Missouri-Review 9, no. 1 (1985/1986): 89-109. Gilbert discusses her career and relevant feminist issues.

Griffiths, Sarah, and Kevin Kehrwald, eds. Delicious Imaginations: Conversations with Contemporary Writers. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, 1998. Includes an interview with Gilbert.

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