Arts: Why Are There No Women Writers in Vogue?s Edith Wharton Spread?

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Brow Beat Why Are There No Women Writers in Vogue's Edith Wharton Spread? By Kate Bolick Posted Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012, at 12:30 PM ET Literary festivals don't tend to generate much intrigue. But at last weekend's Berkshire WordFest the close listener was rewarded with the thrilling crackle of whispered indignation. Several hundred writers and fans had descended upon The Mount, Edith Wharton's country house in Lenox, Mass., to celebrate the author's 150th birthday with three days of panels and readings. The weather was crisp and clear, and everyone milled about the house and grounds uninhibitedly, as if Wharton herself had issued the invitations. Stacked here and there like so many party favors were glossy, staple-bound excerpts from Vogue's September issue: a lavish, 18-page photo feature depicting a handful of actors, artists, models, and writers posing as Wharton and her circle lounging, couture-clad, in the very same rooms we wandered through. Shot by Annie Leibovitz and produced by Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington, with an essay by Irish novelist Colm Tóibín, the feature is a gorgeous, evocative homage to the estate Wharton designed herself. It even shares the title of Wharton's most undeservedly under-read novel, The Custom of the Country. Devotees, not to mention The Mount's representatives, are rightly thrilled with the fantasia—but the reaction among many of the women writers in attendance was…complicated. "Can you believe it?" novelist Roxana Robinson asked me. She had spied me in the foyer and introduced herself, and in no time at all we were on to the topic very few of us there could stop whispering ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate We Are the 5 or 6 or 7 Percent How Much Voter Fraud Is There? Does Mitt Romney Want Your Vote?	Advertisement
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