Sallie Bingham
Sallie Bingham is a writer, teacher, feminist activist, and philanthropist.
Sallie’s first novel was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1961; she has since published six additional novels and the well-known family memoir, Passion and Prejudice (Knopf, 1989). Her forthcoming book, The Silver Swan: Searching for Doris Duke, will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in Fall 2019.
She is founder of the Kentucky Foundation for Women, which published The American Voice, and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture at Duke University.
The Blue Box: Three Lives In Letters
“The heart and soul of my book lies in the vibrant silences I heard between the lines, silences that translated themselves into words as I wrote. The Blue Box does not share the soft glow that softens the details of so many family histories; its light approaches a glare. For, when I chose to write about upper-white women in Virginia, I knew I was making a choice in many ways alien for me; I have always been more interested in the lives of the people, largely women, who according to our culture do not count.”
— Sallie Bingham
Sallie's Latest
Two Women in an Elevator
Women have been taught not to scream lest we be discounted as "hysterical"... and so the strength of our voices, and of our fury, has been denigrated and eliminated from public discourse....
Apples
Like the medieval desert mendicants, holy men who lived their lives in remote caves and were sometimes fed by ravens, Will had long ago lost any interest in possessions, or any taste for food....
From Dream to Reality
It is finished after almost two years of work, with many changes—some of them drastic, others simply disappointing—along the way....
Single Blessedness
My self is precious, and it needs and deserves nourishing as the center of my life, not an outcropping....
Indian Market: When We Are All Together
Through all these years of turmoil and change, the Santa Fe Indian Market has persisted....
Do Right Woman: Aretha Franklin
No one can appreciate the depth of Aretha Franklin's influence as clearly as women, like me, who came of age in the Feminist Movement in the late 1960's....
The Silver Swan
Celebrities
These days if a writer is smitten with the idea of writing a new book—a new analysis—of any supposedly well-known person, the obstacles to her research will be enormous....
Death of Ten Thousand Pricks
Scheduled to be published in August, 2018, The Silver Swan is now delayed till sometime in 2019....
I Want It to Be Said
By now we all know that the discrimination that afflicts one group afflicts all of us....
Doris Duke: Love, Sex, Power and Money
Does it matter that she never found her match in terms of money, status and achievement?...
I Didn’t Sing for a Year
I remember being amazed when my young granddaughters and their friends listened, apparently unperturbed, to hip hop verses that demonize or degrade women....
Music Hath Charms
I grew up with almost no music at all. Music, after all, is not words and only words counted in that world....
Doris Duke and the Sea
Both Doris and Alleda developed physical strength, courage and confidence battling the waves on the beaches at Newport....
Doris Duke Goes to Press
My relief in learning that “The Silver Swan” will be published next June prompts me to rejoice like old-time newspaper editors when the daily edition was put to bed....
Doris Duke and Rich People’s Secrets
Our culture is unjust because we, its citizens, are satisfied for it to be that way....
Doris Duke
Ten Favorites: Hats and Pearls…
“Doing good” has always been associated with that look which is why Doris Duke, mysterious, unpredictable, may turn out to be an interesting subject for my next book. Already I gather that she “did good” without caring much about it or dreaming of wearing “do good” clothes....
Loving Dogs
Today I find myself in complete sympathy with Doris Duke’s passion, even with the uncomfortable assumption that dogs are sometimes better companions than complicated, changeable humans....
Girls of Summer
If she can move like this playing paddle ball, surely she can act with equal skill, grace, and assurance in a board room, a corporate office, or an artist’s studio....
Doris Duke: First White Woman Surfer In Hawaii
Nothing could prevent Doris from seizing that moment in the surf at Hawaii when she reared high in the air, arms thrown back and chin lifted, exulting in her power to do what she wanted....
You Come Too
I'm asking you, my able and loyal readers, to “come too” as I head into yet another revision of my biography on Doris Duke. Originally set to be published in 2016, it is now delayed until October, 2018....
Hats and Pearls…
“Doing good” has always been associated with that look which is why Doris Duke, mysterious, unpredictable, may turn out to be an interesting subject for my next book. Already I gather that she “did good” without caring much about it or dreaming of wearing “do good” clothes....
Girl vs. Bull
I know Doris Duke would have enjoyed seeing the statue of a little girl confronting the bull of Wall Street....
On To The Next
Now that my newest book, Mending: New and Selected Short Stories is reaching its readers, I find myself in a rather delightful quandary....
Doris Duke, Pop Music, and Me
Doris, high-diving, surfing in Hawaii, battling the waves on a stormy day off Newport as she had ever since childhood, might have resisted pop music’s anthem of female submission....
Doris Duke and Me: Dancing
Doris Duke practiced with Martha Graham’s company in New York and proudly wore their black satin jacket with her name and the company’s name on the back....
Writing
Celebrities
These days if a writer is smitten with the idea of writing a new book—a new analysis—of any supposedly well-known person, the obstacles to her research will be enormous....
A Nation Afraid
I've been wondering why we in the blessed U.S. seem so frightened of just about everything....
Philip Roth Is Gone
As a young writer publishing my first novel at the time of Roth's debut, I wondered even then why this gentle, pastel novel received so much attention....
To Be of Use: The Lisa Unger Baskin Collection
A great collection is always based on a passion. It is not random. It grows from a strong root....
Kate Millett: A Beginning
If our coming together seldom includes our work, and is largely social, our influence on our communities is limited....
Doris Duke, the Patriarchy, and God
My surprise almost outweighed my satisfaction when I found that in one letter, written in middle age, Doris referred to the patriarchy....
No Refuge but in Writing
I have been blessed this week by two immersions in the work of Tennessee Williams, a writer I've always adored....
Women
Single Blessedness
My self is precious, and it needs and deserves nourishing as the center of my life, not an outcropping....
Do Right Woman: Aretha Franklin
No one can appreciate the depth of Aretha Franklin's influence as clearly as women, like me, who came of age in the Feminist Movement in the late 1960's....
Philip Roth Is Gone
As a young writer publishing my first novel at the time of Roth's debut, I wondered even then why this gentle, pastel novel received so much attention....
To Be of Use: The Lisa Unger Baskin Collection
A great collection is always based on a passion. It is not random. It grows from a strong root....
Kate Millett: A Beginning
If our coming together seldom includes our work, and is largely social, our influence on our communities is limited....
Doris Duke, the Patriarchy, and God
My surprise almost outweighed my satisfaction when I found that in one letter, written in middle age, Doris referred to the patriarchy....
They Believe
Dear Believers, dear Marchers and Speakers, I beg you to immerse yourself in our history, in all the aspects of violence so deeply embedded in money-making and male entitlement....
Womanhouse
Whether we dare, or do not dare, with our work and our voices and our actions to make trouble, we are living in the midst of trouble, nationally and globally, trouble that no amount of soothing the waters is going to solve....
New Mexico
Apples
Like the medieval desert mendicants, holy men who lived their lives in remote caves and were sometimes fed by ravens, Will had long ago lost any interest in possessions, or any taste for food....
From Dream to Reality
It is finished after almost two years of work, with many changes—some of them drastic, others simply disappointing—along the way....
Indian Market: When We Are All Together
Through all these years of turmoil and change, the Santa Fe Indian Market has persisted....
The Fire This Time
Burning to prevent burning produces unwelcome results... even in the face of wildfires, we may do our forests a favor by leaving them alone....
Pip’s Wild Friends
Life gets pretty boring for a lone dog like Pip, especially now—it is so hot and the hiking trails are so crowded we don't go there much....
The Century Plant
The wisdom of old age: to stay and savor, rather than leaving to experience more....
The Extraordinarily Gifted
The last few days have brought me into contact with four extraordinary people... this seems amazing....
No More Water
In times like this, I'm grateful that—so far—Santa Fe has been spared, and perhaps the closing of our neighboring national forest will prevent disaster....
Kentucky
Spring Planting
The Horsetooth Corn will grow vigorously to remind us all that fertility, growth and abundance is still possible....
A Few of My Favorite Things
I am particularly blessed in these special places that seem to have come into my life by chance or luck but are in fact the material manifestations of prayer....
17 Favorites of 2017
As this year comes to a close (some might say thankfully), I've once again chosen my most popular posts of 2017, based on visits, comments, Tweets and Facebook likes....
Adventurer / Adventuresses
The threats we still face from the dominant culture, the insults and violence, have not stopped us. We still go for the outer air....
Dogs, Horses—And Fish
“Don’t feel sorry for The Teaser,” our guide told us, though it seemed to me more likely we might feel sorry for the mares....
Claiming the Broom
The witch with her broom is also the woman tossed up in a basket—the high flyer, the visionary, terrifying to many... and more necessary now than ever....
The Best Photos of the Year
These are my favorite photos of the last year, with links to their blog posts (if any)—Sallie Little brother made up for Christmas play, my next book…: This Writer’s Life The Pond, Santa Fe, NM: Over the Hills and a Great Way Off The Little House on the Prairie: The Little House on the Prairie ...
Your 16 Favorites of 2016
As this memorable year comes to an end, I’ve chosen my sixteen most popular posts of the year, based on visits, comments, Tweets and Facebook likes. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to know that I’ve been able to cover a lot of ground with these posts and in a satisfactory way. I ...
The Female of the Species
No connection erases the primal fear that is a constant in our culture: the fear of the power of women....
My Family
Apples
Like the medieval desert mendicants, holy men who lived their lives in remote caves and were sometimes fed by ravens, Will had long ago lost any interest in possessions, or any taste for food....
17 Favorites of 2017
As this year comes to a close (some might say thankfully), I've once again chosen my most popular posts of 2017, based on visits, comments, Tweets and Facebook likes....
Acting Christmas
Something in our basic human nature calls for ritual celebration with other people, even if the other people are strangers....
Tiny Little Things
The value of the collection I keep on the top of my bureau seems suddenly, mysteriously clear....
Life Is What Leaps
How to keep a spark of hope alive in our so-called democratic process? How not to drop into numbness and apathy?...
Eating Alone
Last night I noticed how a repetitive task—each leaf pulled off the stalk, dipped in French dressing, and eaten—demands a particular sort of attention....
Digging In
Certainly my methods of research are sometimes unorthodox... but I am not saddled with the literal-minded over-reliance on facts that a PhD sometimes confers. ...
Your 16 Favorites of 2016
As this memorable year comes to an end, I’ve chosen my sixteen most popular posts of the year, based on visits, comments, Tweets and Facebook likes. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to know that I’ve been able to cover a lot of ground with these posts and in a satisfactory way. I ...