In her joyful heart she performs the song of death on the plain. She performs the song of her heart. She washes their weapons with blood and gore, … Axes smash heads, spears penetrate and maces are covered in blood. Their evil mouths … the warriors … On their first offerings she pours blood, filling them with blood.
-Enheduanna, an Akkadian Princess. Regarded by literary and historical scholars as the earliest known author and poet, she served as an En Priestess during the third millennium BC. (via fuckyeahladywriters)
Composed 42 hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad including Eridu, Sippar and Esnunna. The temple hymns were the first collection of their kind, in them Enheduanna states: “My king, something has been created that no one has created before.” The copying of the hymns indicates the temple hymns were in use long after Enheduanna’s death and were held in high esteem. Her other famous work is ‘The Exaltation of Inanna’ or ‘Nin-Me-Sar-Ra’ which is a personal devotion to the goddess Inanna and also details Enheduanna’s expulsion from Ur. Enheduanna’s authorship raises the issue of female literacy in ancient Mesopotamia; in addition to Enheduanna royal wives are known to have commissioned or perhaps composed poetry and the goddess Nindaba acted as a scribe.
Involved in the development of the systolic blood-pressure test used to detect deception which was used in the earliest polygraph machines. Got a law degree in defiance of her father, peddling cookbooks door-to-door to raise money for tuition. Advised her husband on the creation of Wonder Woman. Indexed the documents of the first fourteen Congresses, lectured on law, ethics, and psychology at American and New York Universities, served as an editor for Encyclopædia Britannica and McCall’s magazine. In 1933, became the assistant to the chief executive at Metropolitan Life Insurance, a position she held until she was 65 years old. Lived to be 100 years old (Elizabeth Holloway Marston)
Popular cartoonist and illustrator of the early 20th century, who became an American household name within a year of beginning a prominent thirty-year career in editorial, commercial, and news illustration. Worked as a prominent courtroom illustrator. Published original illustrated stories (featuring active female protagonists) to great acclaim. Wrote and illustrated theater reviews, and profiles of prominent women in society, including women defense workers and women’s rights activists. Works directly inspired popular songs, comedy, film, and fashion of the time. Became known as the “Queen of Comics”. (Nell Brinkley)
Served as either Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, and/or President of DC Comics for 26 years, introducing Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman to the American comics industry, overseeing the publication of Moore’s Swamp Thing, Watchmen, and V for Vendetta, Gaiman’s Sandman, and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, implemented the first significant initiative of a major comic book company’s recognition of creators’ rights, ushered in the literary Vertigo imprint and partnered with Milestone Media to publish a line of minority-led superhero comics (including Static Shock), and diversified the DC staff making it half-female by the time she left. Received the Library of Congress “Living Legends” award for her significant contributions to American cultural heritage. (Jenette Kahn)
Wrote the foremost text on the Classical myths (Edith Hamilton)
Wrote six of the best loved books in literature. Books that have spawned many television and film productions, as well as plays, radio-plays and even other books.
Wrote one of the earliest known novels, The Tale of Genji. (Murasaki Shikibu)
Wrote a classic that spawned a complete genre of horror stories and films.
