Larry Ceplair – författare

Sarah Moore Grimke and Angelina Emily Grimke were the first women in America coming from a southern slave-holding family to speak publicly on behalf of the abolition of slavery. Creating a stir of controversy soon afterwards during the 1830s especially with the force of their testimony before the Massachusetts State Legislature, they soon found themselves defending publicly and at length the right of women to speak on moral and political issues and on the end of the subordination of women. The editor of this collection of eloquent political writings, Larry Ceplair, has written a critical introduction situating the Grimkes' in an historical and political context in which he describes the significance of their thought and work. Of special interest is the inclusion of writings documenting the Grimke sisters activities that preceded by 11 years the first woman's rights convention in America, held at Seneca Falls, N.Y., in 1848. Most of the Grimke sisters writings are out of print today. Mr. Ceplair's efforts will be greatly appreciated by those interested in the history of feminist theory, antebellum history.

I have nothing to offer the world but what I think...I think that the thing that I am here to do is a big thing - the truth. I see deep basic truths; and that I have been given unusual powers of expression. I truly hope that my life will count for much good in the world. - letter to George Houghton Gilman, May 11, 1897. Charlotte Perkins Gilman is best known as the author of the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and a utopian novel, "Herland", but she also wrote six nonfiction books and hundreds of articles and lectures. Arguably one of the most radical and certainly one of the most original thinkers of her era, Gilman (1860-1935) is missing from the male-authored intellectual histories and biographies of the period. This reader is an effort to fill that gap, offering a representative sample of her nonfiction writing. Presented chronologically, these selections emphasize her thoughts on gender, evolution, economics, radical political movements, and women's groups. Each chapter begins with an exploration of her life during the years covered and a discussion of contemporary intellectual, social, and political developments.

The definitive work on the Hollywood blacklist eraThe Inquisition in Hollywood examines the suppression of radical political activity in the film industry from the days of the Great Depression through the tumultuous House Un-American Activities Commission era to the waning days of the infamous blacklist. Although this thirty-year period of American history is marked by widespread targeting of leftists in all areas of life, those in the film industry–-predominately screenwriters–-were considered to be in positions of great potential indoctrinating power, and found themselves under intense scrutiny as the Cold War hysteria mounted. Ceplair and Englund trace the history of political struggle in Hollywood back to the formation of the Screen Writers Guild in 1933. Many of the blacklisted filmmakers were members of the Communist Party and all of the graylisted filmmakers had expressed their sympathy with progressive (mainly anti-fascist) causes. Although no Hollywood Communist has ever been linked to espionage or sabotage, and charges of subversive indoctrination have no basis in documented fact, this book powerfully shows how devastating a mere suspicion or insinuation of guilt could be during the era of the Red Menace. Twenty-two years after its initial publication, The Inquisition in Hollywood remains the definitive work on the blacklist era, and this new edition features a new introduction by the authors.

James Dalton Trumbo (1905--1976) is widely recognized for his work as a screenwriter, playwright, and author, but he is also remembered as one of the Hollywood Ten who opposed the House Un-American Activities Committee. Refusing to answer questions about his prior involvement with the Communist Party, Trumbo sacrificed a successful career in Hollywood to stand up for his rights and defend political freedom.In Dalton Trumbo, authors Larry Ceplair and Christopher Trumbo present their extensive research on the famed writer, detailing his work, his membership in the Communist Party, his long campaign against censorship during the domestic cold war, his ten-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress, and his thirteen-year struggle to break the blacklist.The blacklist ended for Trumbo in 1960, when he received screen credits for Exodus and Spartacus. Just before his death, he received a long-delayed Academy Award for The Brave One, and in 1993, he was posthumously given an Academy Award for Roman Holiday (1953). This comprehensive biography provides insights into the many notable people with whom Trumbo worked, including Stanley Kubrick, Otto Preminger, and Kirk Douglas, and offers a fascinating look at the life of one of Hollywood's most prominent screenwriters and his battle against persecution.