Joan Gould Explained

Joan Gould
Birth Date:27 February 1927
Birth Place:New York City, New York
Death Place:Rye, New York
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:Bryn Mawr College
Genre:Science fiction
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Joan Gould (February 27, 1927 – August 20, 2022) was an American author and journalist.[1] [2] As a freelance journalist in the 1960s, Gould contributed articles to publications such as Esquire Life, Sports Illustrated, McCall's and The New York Times.[2] She helped to plan and was the inaugural columnist of the Times "Hers" column, for "intelligent, involved women".

Her first book, Otherborn (1980), was a science fiction novel for young adults. She has also published Spirals: A Woman's Journey Through Family Life (1988) and Spinning Straw into Gold: What Fairy Tales Reveal About the Transformations in a Woman's Life (2005).

Writing

After attending Bryn Mawr College where she studied with W. H. Auden,[3] she worked as a freelance journalist in the 1960s, contributing articles to a variety of publications. Most notably, she wrote about boat racing for Esquire.[4]

In 1980, Gould wrote her first book, Otherborn, a science fiction novel for young adults. The book follows a shipwrecked brother and sister who are stranded on a Pacific Island inhabited by an unusual race of people.[5]

In 1976, at a Manhattan party, Gould suggested the idea of a column for "intelligent, involved women" to A. M. Rosenthal, editor of The New York Times. With Gould's assistance, Rosenthal developed the New York Times "Hers" column,[6] "designed as a forum for writing by women."[7] Gould became its first columnist.[6]

Her pieces focus on the unique relational roles women play in the lives of their families and friends. She draws from her own experiences as a widow navigating the world without her longtime partner.[8] An avid sailor, Gould also wrote about finding her sense of self on the open water: "For a while, a boat is more than a boat, and I am more than a blunderer. I am myself."[9]

Gould chronicles her husband's illness and subsequent death from cancer in her 1988 book, Spirals: A Woman's Journey Through Family Life.[10] Gould writes about her evolving roles and responsibilities as her husband dies and as her children grow up:

Gould's travel writing has also been featured in the NY Times travel section.[11] Some of her work was included in Katharine Lee Bates collection Spain: The Best Travel Writing from the New York Times (2001).[2] [12]

In 2005, Random House published Gould's feminist examination of cultural lore, Spinning Straw into Gold: What Fairy Tales Reveal About the Transformations in a Woman's Life.[13] [14]

Critical response

Gould's memoir, Spirals, received a rave review in The New York Times. The reviewer, Bob Greene, called the book "unlike anything I have ever read before," and praised its honest representation of life's banalities:

Spirals was selected a New York Times Editor's Choice the week of July 24, 1988.[15]

Personal life

After graduating, she married Martin Kleinbard, a lawyer. They were married for twenty-eight years,[16] until his death from cancer in 1978. They had three children.[17] Their marriage and family life serves as the inspiration for much of her writing.

Gould died in Rye, New York on August 20, 2022, aged 95.[18]

Select works

Notes and References

  1. Book: Dornan . Edward A. . Dawe . Charles W. . The Longwood Reader . December 1, 1996 . Allyn & Bacon, Incorporated . 402.
  2. Web site: Gould, Joan 1927– . Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series . Encyclopedia.com . 26 February 2019.
  3. Book: Gould, Joan. Spirals: A Woman's Journey Through Family Life. October 31, 2012. Penguin Random House . 9780307826459 . en.
  4. News: Gould . Joan . Nine Intrepid Men . 28 February 2019 . Esquire . April 1, 1967.
  5. Book: Gould . Joan . Otherborn: a novel . 1980 . Coward, McCann & Geoghegan . registration . 9780698204973 .
  6. Book: Diamond . Edwin . Behind the Times : inside the new New York Times . 1993 . University of Chicago Press . Chicago, IL . 9780226144726 . 185 . University of Chicago Press. .
  7. News: Gould . Joan . Hers : THERESA, in suburban parlance the girl who shampoos my hair, is no girl at all . 28 February 2019 . . November 6, 1980.
  8. News: Gould . Joan . Hers : For well over a year after my husband's death, I was unable to look through my telescope . 28 February 2019 . . December 11, 1980.
  9. News: Gould . Joan . Hers; In sport, as in art, we reveal ourselves.. The New York Times. en. 2019-01-24.
  10. News: SPIRALS: A Woman's Journey Through Family Life . 28 February 2019 . Kirkus Reviews . Random House . April 6, 1988.
  11. News: Musings from the underworld . The New York Times. Gould. Joan . January 31, 1993.
  12. Book: Bates . Katharine Lee . Spain: The Best Travel Writing from the New York Times . 2001 . Abbeville Press . New York, NY.
  13. News: Spinning Straw into Gold: What Fairy Tales Reveal About the Transformations in a Woman's Life . 28 February 2019 . Kirkus Reviews . Random House . February 22, 2005.
  14. Book: Gould . Joan . Spinning Straw into Gold: What Fairy Tales Reveal About the Transformations in a Woman's Life . 2005 . Random House . New York . 9780394585321 .
  15. News: BEST SELLERS: July 24, 1988. July 24, 1988. The New York Times. 2019-01-24. en-US. 0362-4331.
  16. News: Joan. Gould. November 13, 1980. 59 . Hers: HOW rich, strange and tumultuous are the romances we conduct after death.. . en . 2019-01-24.
  17. News: Martin Kleinbard, Lawyer, at 59; Headed Unit Aiding Immigrants . 28 February 2019 . . December 19, 1978.
  18. Web site: In Memory: Joan Gould Kleinbard, Age 95 . My Rye.com . 2 December 2022.