19 Facts About Tillie Olsen

Tillie Lerner Olsen was an American writer who was associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists.

Tillie Olsen was born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents Samuel and Ida Lerner in Wahoo, Nebraska; the family moved to Omaha while she was a young child.

Tillie Olsen was a union organizer and political activist in the Socialist community.

In 1932, Tillie Olsen began to write her first novel Yonnondio, the same year she gave birth to Karla, the first of four daughters.

In 1933, Tillie Olsen moved to California, where she continued her union activities.

Tillie Olsen was briefly jailed in 1934 while organizing a packing house workers' union, an experience she wrote about in The Nation, The New Republic, and Partisan Review.

Tillie Olsen later moved to San Francisco, California, where in 1936 she met and lived with Jack Olsen, who was an organizer and a longshoreman.

Tillie Olsen died on January 1,2007, in Oakland, California, aged 94.

Tillie Olsen abandoned the book due to work, child rearing, and household responsibilities.

Tillie Olsen did not publish her first book until 1961, Tell Me a Riddle, a collection of four short stories, mostly linked by the characters who are members of one family.

In 1968, Tillie Olsen signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse to pay taxes in protest against the Vietnam War.

Tillie Olsen researched and wrote the book in the San Francisco Public Library.

Once her books were published, Tillie Olsen became a teacher and writer-in-residence at numerous colleges, such as Amherst College, Stanford University, MIT, and Kenyon College.

Tillie Olsen was the recipient of nine honorary degrees, National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Also among the honors bestowed upon Tillie Olsen was the Distinguished Contributions to American Literature Award from the American Academy and the Institutes of American Arts and Letters, in 1975, and the Rea Award for the Short Story, in 1994, for a lifetime of outstanding achievement in the field of short story writing.

Tillie Olsen was invited to record her work at the Library of Congress in 1996.

Tillie Olsen drew attention to why women have been less likely to be published authors.

Tillie Olsen's work received recognition in the years of much feminist political and social activity.

Tillie Olsen: A Heart in Action is a 2007 documentary film directed and produced by Ann Hershey on the life and literary influence of Olsen.