March Sisters
On Life, Death, and Little Women
Kate Bolick’s blockbuster Atlantic cover story, “All the Single Ladies,” drew over a million readers and inspired a heated debate on modern notions of romance, family, career, and success. Now, she presents her book Spinster and invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life. Why do some women remain unmarried, she asks, and what are the cultural—and economic—implications of staying single?
When Kate Bolick’s Atlantic story, “All the Single Ladies” was published, it marked only the third time in the magazine’s history that a female author had appeared on the cover. Interest in Bolick’s marquee article was so intense that it landed her a book deal. Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own “sets forth a clear vision not just for single women, but for all women: to disregard the reigning views of how women should live, to know their own hearts and to carve out a little space for their dreams” (The New York Times).
As a writer and speaker, Bolick uses lively, relatable language to bring complicated, deeply researched ideas to wide audiences. She is a contributing editor for The Atlantic, freelance writer for ELLE, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal (among other publications), and host of “Touchstones at The Mount,” an annual literary interview series at Edith Wharton’s country estate in Lenox, MA. Previously, she was executive editor of Domino, and a columnist for The Boston Globe Ideas Section. A recipient of a MacDowell fellowship, she holds a Master’s in cultural criticism from New York University, where she also taught writing.
Bolick has appeared on The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and many NPR programs across the country.