Nine top fiercely political women writers

Eve Fairbanks writes about change: in cities, countries, landscapes, morals, values, and our ideas of ourselves. A former political writer for The New Republic, her essays and reportage have been published in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Guardian, among other outlets. Born in Virginia, she now lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa's Racial Reckoning is her debut.

At Lit Hub Fairbanks tagged nine women "writers we can read to adjust the masculine take on political analysis that still dominates." One entry on the list:

Patricia Roberts-Miller, Demagoguery and Democracy

Roberts-Miller is a professor of rhetoric, so her readable and jargon-free prose on political arguments ought not to come as a surprise, but it still does. She’s that clear a writer. All of her books—on the fantasy of political consensus, on racism and antiracism in conversation, on the use of conflict in democracy—are rooted in history. But Demagoguery and Democracy feels especially urgent. In this short volume, she entirely excludes the Trump era for a crisp analysis of what a demagogue really is and how this ancient category of politician poses a continual risk. It’s an instant classic.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue