Virginia Woolf - Reading is a Complex Art

We’re continuing our celebration of Women’s History Month with a tribute to literary giant, Virginia Woolf. Blue Heron Books owner, Jean Mills, is a scholar of her work, her philosophy, and her focus on women’s friendships and the importance of mentorship. Actively writing between 1905 and her death in 1941, Woolf produced 9 novels, 46 short stories, and over 500 essays. She is as revered today, as she was for most of her professional career. Last year, her work and life were showcased in an exhibit at the New York Public Library titled, Virginia Woolf: A Modern Mind.

Known as one of the great modernist writers of the 20th century, Woolf’s love of reading was an enormous part of her personal journey with words. The popularity of her work, bolstered by a resurgence of interest during the feminist literary criticism movement of the 1970s, often eclipses some of her other major achievements. Few realize that Woolf wrote a weekly book review for the Times Literary Supplement for 30 years. Over 1500 books were reviewed by Woolf who felt reading was as much a skill as writing. “To read a novel is a difficult and complex art,” she said, and one collection of a recently published selection of her essays on the subject is simply titled, Genius and Ink: Virginia Woolf on How to Read.

Tilda Swinton’s award winning portrayal of the titular character in Woolf’s Orlando (1992) is yet another contemporary representation of her work, which broadly celebrates gender fluidity and helps Woolf retain her high status as a writer whose ability to express elements of the human condition remain, to this day, ahead of her time. It has taken nearly a century for mainstream culture to bolster the courage to openly express the nature of gender introspection with the same thoughtfulness and bravado as Woolf did in the early 1900s. Her work and ethic are a true force in the history of English literature. We celebrate her life as we celebrate her words… which are as enduring as the woman herself.

Please visit the shop or order some of our favorite works from Viginia Woolf and help us highlight the achievements of great women this Women’s History Month.