Sharon Rudahl's comic strip biography of EMMA GOLDMAN

“‘You are a terrible child and will grow into a worse woman! You have no respect for your elders or for authority! You will surely end on the gallows as a public menace!’ —EMMA GOLDMAN’S CHILDHOOD RELIGION TEACHER

“A wonderful retelling of the famous anarchist and radical icon Emma Goldman’s extraordinary life, this biography embodies the richness and drama of Goldman’s story in a wholly original way.

“A Dangerous Woman depicts the full sweep of a life lived to the hilt in the struggle for equality and justice. Emma Goldman was at the forefront of the radical causes of the twentieth century, from leading hunger demonstrations during the Great Depression—’Ask for work! If they do not give you work, ask for bread! If they do not give you work or bread, take the bread!’—to organizing a cloakmakers’ strike, from lecturing on how to use birth control to fighting conscription for World War I, while her soulmate, Alexander Berkman, spent fourteen years in jail for his failed attentat against industrialist Henry Clay Frick.

“Sharon Rudahl’s lovely, energetic illustrations bring Goldman’s many facets and passions to new life; her work belongs with the critically acclaimed graphic nonfiction of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Featuring a foreword by Alice Wexler, A Dangerous Woman is a marvelously compelling presentation of a woman devoted to revolutionizing her age.

“Sharon Rudahl’s work has appeared in underground newspapers and magazines, Marvel Comics, and Wobblies!: A Graphic History; her art has been widely exhibited. She lives in Hollywood. Paul Buhle is a senior lecturer at Brown University. He has written, edited, or co-edited thirty-two books, including the Encyclopedia of the American Left, Wobblies!, and the recent Jews and American Popular Culture trilogy. Alice Wexler is the author of a two-volume biography of Emma Goldman. She is a research scholar at UCLA.”

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About Jay Babcock

I am an independent writer and editor based in Tucson, Arizona. I publish LANDLINE at jaybabcock.substack.com Previously: I co-founded and edited Arthur Magazine (2002-2008, 2012-13) and curated the three Arthur music festival events (Arthurfest, ArthurBall, and Arthur Nights) (2005-6). Prior to that I was a district office staffer for Congressman Henry A. Waxman, a DJ at Silver Lake pirate radio station KBLT, a copy editor at Larry Flynt Publications, an editor at Mean magazine, and a freelance journalist contributing work to LAWeekly, Mojo, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Vibe, Rap Pages, Grand Royal and many other print and online outlets. An extended piece I wrote on Fela Kuti was selected for the Da Capo Best Music Writing 2000 anthology. In 2006, I was somehow listed in the Music section of Los Angeles Magazine's annual "Power" issue. In 2007-8, I produced a blog called "Nature Trumps," about the L.A. River. From 2010 to 2021, I lived in rural wilderness in Joshua Tree, Ca.

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