80 women at 80: Santa Cruzans give writers a platform to speak their minds

A healthy culture listens to its elders — or, at the least, respects the idea that someone who has survived eight decades or more might have something valuable to impart to the rest of us.

At least in this respect, youth-obsessed, technology-addicted, age-phobic America is not a particularly healthy culture, especially when it comes to its women. Which is why a book like “When a Woman Tells The Truth” is necessary.

This new anthology, edited by longtime Santa Cruz literary figures Wilma Marcus Chandler and Dena Taylor, collects essays, poems and stories from a specific demographic — women over 80. In fact, there are 80 over-80 writers represented in the 400-plus-page collection, drawn from all over the country, each addressing a broad question: What’s it like to be an older woman?

On Tuesday, June 4, the editors of the new book — subtitled “Writings and Creative Work from Women Over 80” — will come to Bookshop Santa Cruz to celebrate the collection. They will host several other writers reading from the book. From there, it’s on to Berkeley and then Santa Fe, New Mexico, for other readings.

“It all started with Dena,” said poet and playwright Chandler, whose Santa Cruz literary legacy includes establishing the “8 Tens @8” play festival and managing the “In Celebration of The Muse” poetry reading. “Dena and a group of her friends — most of them retired teachers or administrators or artists — were talking about their life experiences, and what it’s like to be over 80. And then she got the idea, well, let’s put this down in a book.”

The two women, both of whom are also over 80, then set about soliciting submissions with ads in several literary magazines. That resulted in more than 400 submissions from writers in about 35 states. Taylor and Chandler spent almost a year going through the submissions in poetry, memoir, personal essays, travel writing – on “things like dealing with grief and death and health and humor and sex and romance and how to start over,” said Chandler. “Every topic you could think of.”

Along with the material from living writers, Taylor and Chandler added many quotes and excerpts from women over 80 throughout history. Among the contributors are Pulitzer Prize-winners and Guggenheim fellows, as well as prominent names such as bestselling novelist Marge Piercy, writer and healer Deena Metzger and feminist writer and psychotherapist Phyllis Chesler. 

The book’s focus is national in scope — the majority of writers are from the West Coast. But, Chandler said, it will feature a few quotes from the work of several local women writers who have passed away in recent years, including Patricia Grube, Maude Meehan, Tillie Shaw and Hermie Medley, among others. The Santa Cruz writers will be singled out, Chandler said, at the June 4 reading: “We want to honor them all and their families by reading brief excerpts of their work.” 

Chandler and Taylor also heard from several well-known women writers wishing them luck with the book, but who were not able to contribute because they had yet not reached their 80th birthday.

“The material in the book reaches into a really deep part of many of our lives as we age,” said Chandler, 85. “It’s about how we deal with a lot of issues. Some are funny, but some are very deep and grievous as well.”

Wilma Marcus Chandler and Deena Taylor will be on hand to discuss their new book, “When a Woman Tells The Truth,” at Bookshop Santa Cruz on June 4. The event begins at 7 p.m.

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.