Sass in the City: New York Women of Wit in the Twentieth Century 

Seen as too smart, too sassy, too sexy, and too strident, female humorists have been resisted and overlooked. This talk will look at the pioneering women of wit who emerged in New York City during the interwar period and the ways in which they use irony, satire, and wit as an indirect form of social protest. Many of these writers stood on the periphery of largely male New York intellectual circles, which gave them a perspective from which to critique the worlds to which they partially belonged. These foremothers of women’s humor set the stage for more overtly feminist humorists of today, who have turned the labels of bright, bold, and bitchy from a stigma into a rallying cry for future generations. Free; Pre-registration required.