Bonnie Bluh
Encyclopedia
Bonnie Bluh born Helen Celia Bluh, was a Jewish-American feminist novelist and essayist.
Bluh, as friends and family knew her, was brought up in Sunnyside, Queens
, a neighborhood that has repeatedly appeared in her novels.
Bonnie Bluh made her first appearance as a singer at the age of three on the Hearns Radio Children's Hour. As she always liked to recount, she wrote her first play when she was 7 years old and set it in Africa, writing all the dialogue in a made up language. It was staged at P.S. 150, the first New York progressive school she was attending and starred her fellow students.
At the age of 14, while working in the Borscht Belt
, she changed her name from Helen to Bonnie, because she had decided she needed a better name to fit her new career as a singer.
She married in 1946 and four years later she and her husband Max Lowy moved to California
, where Bluh immediately became involved with the Pasadena Playhouse
acting in various productions, including A Streetcar Named Desire
, as well as trying her hand at directing.
In the 1960s, living in New Jersey
, she joined The New Dramatists in New York City and assisted many Broadway
directors including Jules Irving at what was then the brand new Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center (1965–1973).
Before their divorce, in 1969, Max and Bonnie (as she was still known at the time) raised three sons: Craig, Kenn, and Brian.
In the 1960s she lived in Philadelphia where she was on the local National Organization for Women
speakers bureau and formed one of the earliest Consciousness raising
groups. Consciousness Raising groups consisted of women, without the interference of men, discussing and analyzing their lives, sharing their problems with each other and, more importantly, understanding these shared problems rose from society's systematic oppression of women.
In 1971 Bluh left for Europe to write a book. The result was Woman to Woman (1974), her non-fiction account of the emergence of the European feminist movement. Bluh was the first American feminist to meet with the feminists of Ireland, England, Holland, France, Italy and Spain.
When her agent was unable to get the book published because it was considered too personal and too angry, Bluh founded Starogubski Press and published the book herself. Woman to Woman is considered a "landmark account of the second wave of feminism", a book that has been used in the classrooms of over 60 colleges.
Her next book, was the novel, Banana (1976). The publisher, Macmillan, promoted the novel as "the raunchiest, funniest story ever written by a woman." Though many reviewers (almost all male) at the time found it too angry, one female reviewer commented, "This is a novel with a raised consciousness, a mature, intelligent novel of real talent and excitement Doubting Thomases have claimed the feminist movement has yet to produce. Bonnie Bluh, herself an actress-playwright-singer-dancer, has done it."
Banana was quickly followed by another non-fiction book, The Old Speak Out (1979), published by Horizon Press, which was an account of aging in America. As one reviewer wrote, "This extraordinary confrontation between one gutsy woman and a lot of other people amounts to so much more than a series of interviews. Because of Bonnie Bluh we can reach into places most of us don’t attempt in person, risking little and finding a hundred new friends."
Through the 1970s she wrote everything from articles about feminism to movie reviews for various weeklies including The Soho News and N.Y. Women's Weekly. She was also a guest on various radio and TV shows and conducted writing seminars in New York City, as well as Stockholm
, Moscow and Tel Aviv
.
In 1985, Bluh had moved to the Westbeth Artists Community
in the West Village. In a building filled with artists of all stripes she was known as one of the more outgoing, colorful characters.
After a string of agents had trouble finding a publisher for her next novels, Bluh picked what she considered the most popular of the lot and once again chose the self-publishing route. The Eleanor Roosevelt Girls (1998), a saga of female friendship and betrayal, follows six Sunnyside, Queens
girls from 1942 to 92. It was perhaps less incendiary than her earlier work, or perhaps the times had just changed.
"Bonnie Bluh's very readable The Eleanor Roosevelt Girls is the perfect antidote for all those years of watching women on the screen stand helplessly by during the big fight scenes. You know, the ones where you want to shout ‘Pick up the stick and hit the guy!’ Bluh's women do just that, and more."
In the first years of the 21st century Bluh, who never gave up her love of theater, edited, along with the New Dramatists Alumni Committee, "Broadway's Fabulous Fifties" (2002).
Bluh had finished her untitled memoir just before her death. It is a book about the approach of death; her death. Far from being a morose account of decline and frailty in old age, it was an eccentric, comical late-in-life Bildungsroman
including hilarious versions of her own obituary.
Biography
Helen Celia Bluh was born 29 March 1926 in New York City, to Morris Bluh and Mary Steinberg.Bluh, as friends and family knew her, was brought up in Sunnyside, Queens
Sunnyside, Queens
Sunnyside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens, in New York state, in the United States. It shares borders with Hunters Point and Long Island City to the west, Astoria to the north, Woodside to the east and Maspeth to the south...
, a neighborhood that has repeatedly appeared in her novels.
Bonnie Bluh made her first appearance as a singer at the age of three on the Hearns Radio Children's Hour. As she always liked to recount, she wrote her first play when she was 7 years old and set it in Africa, writing all the dialogue in a made up language. It was staged at P.S. 150, the first New York progressive school she was attending and starred her fellow students.
At the age of 14, while working in the Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties in upstate New York that were a popular vacation spot for New York City Jews from the 1920s through the 1960s.-Name:The name comes from...
, she changed her name from Helen to Bonnie, because she had decided she needed a better name to fit her new career as a singer.
She married in 1946 and four years later she and her husband Max Lowy moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where Bluh immediately became involved with the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
acting in various productions, including A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
, as well as trying her hand at directing.
In the 1960s, living in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, she joined The New Dramatists in New York City and assisted many Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
directors including Jules Irving at what was then the brand new Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center (1965–1973).
Before their divorce, in 1969, Max and Bonnie (as she was still known at the time) raised three sons: Craig, Kenn, and Brian.
In the 1960s she lived in Philadelphia where she was on the local National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
speakers bureau and formed one of the earliest Consciousness raising
Consciousness raising
Consciousness raising is a form of political activism, pioneered by United States feminists in the late 1960s...
groups. Consciousness Raising groups consisted of women, without the interference of men, discussing and analyzing their lives, sharing their problems with each other and, more importantly, understanding these shared problems rose from society's systematic oppression of women.
In 1971 Bluh left for Europe to write a book. The result was Woman to Woman (1974), her non-fiction account of the emergence of the European feminist movement. Bluh was the first American feminist to meet with the feminists of Ireland, England, Holland, France, Italy and Spain.
When her agent was unable to get the book published because it was considered too personal and too angry, Bluh founded Starogubski Press and published the book herself. Woman to Woman is considered a "landmark account of the second wave of feminism", a book that has been used in the classrooms of over 60 colleges.
Her next book, was the novel, Banana (1976). The publisher, Macmillan, promoted the novel as "the raunchiest, funniest story ever written by a woman." Though many reviewers (almost all male) at the time found it too angry, one female reviewer commented, "This is a novel with a raised consciousness, a mature, intelligent novel of real talent and excitement Doubting Thomases have claimed the feminist movement has yet to produce. Bonnie Bluh, herself an actress-playwright-singer-dancer, has done it."
Banana was quickly followed by another non-fiction book, The Old Speak Out (1979), published by Horizon Press, which was an account of aging in America. As one reviewer wrote, "This extraordinary confrontation between one gutsy woman and a lot of other people amounts to so much more than a series of interviews. Because of Bonnie Bluh we can reach into places most of us don’t attempt in person, risking little and finding a hundred new friends."
Through the 1970s she wrote everything from articles about feminism to movie reviews for various weeklies including The Soho News and N.Y. Women's Weekly. She was also a guest on various radio and TV shows and conducted writing seminars in New York City, as well as Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Moscow and Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
In 1985, Bluh had moved to the Westbeth Artists Community
Westbeth Artists Community
Westbeth Artists Housing, located at 463 West Street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, is the largest such community in the world. This low- to middle-income rental housing project was developed with the assistance of the J.M...
in the West Village. In a building filled with artists of all stripes she was known as one of the more outgoing, colorful characters.
After a string of agents had trouble finding a publisher for her next novels, Bluh picked what she considered the most popular of the lot and once again chose the self-publishing route. The Eleanor Roosevelt Girls (1998), a saga of female friendship and betrayal, follows six Sunnyside, Queens
Sunnyside, Queens
Sunnyside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens, in New York state, in the United States. It shares borders with Hunters Point and Long Island City to the west, Astoria to the north, Woodside to the east and Maspeth to the south...
girls from 1942 to 92. It was perhaps less incendiary than her earlier work, or perhaps the times had just changed.
"Bonnie Bluh's very readable The Eleanor Roosevelt Girls is the perfect antidote for all those years of watching women on the screen stand helplessly by during the big fight scenes. You know, the ones where you want to shout ‘Pick up the stick and hit the guy!’ Bluh's women do just that, and more."
In the first years of the 21st century Bluh, who never gave up her love of theater, edited, along with the New Dramatists Alumni Committee, "Broadway's Fabulous Fifties" (2002).
Bluh had finished her untitled memoir just before her death. It is a book about the approach of death; her death. Far from being a morose account of decline and frailty in old age, it was an eccentric, comical late-in-life Bildungsroman
Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, bildungsroman or coming-of-age story is a literary genre which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood , and in which character change is thus extremely important...
including hilarious versions of her own obituary.