Thanks for Typing: Wives, Mothers, and Other Women behind Famous Men
4pm, Friday, April 25 @ Mason
Karen Christensen will talk about how #ThanksForTyping went viral in 2017, highlighting the wives, partners, daughters, mistresses, and secretaries who labored in the shadow of famous men, seldom credited or even mentioned by name. In particular, Karen will talk about the famous keepers of the flame she knew well: Valerie Eliot, widow of the poet T S Eliot, and Sophia Mumford, widow of social historian Lewis Mumford. Thanks for Typing is a way of looking at “hidden figures” in history and a chance to explore and acknowledge the contributions made by little-known women.
Karen Christensen’s controversial memoir “Dear Mrs. Eliot” was a cover story in the Guardian’s literary review. She spoke at the 2019 Thanks for Typing Conference at Oxford University, and contributed a chapter to the book Thanks for Typing: Remembering Forgotten Women in History.
