The project of a feminist (and political) re-reading of the essay genre is so needed that...I wondered why this had not been thought of before. Leslie W. Rabine As a genre that has been defined and theorized extensively, the essay raises particularly interesting questions for feminists. While it has often been described in feminine terms e.g., open-ended, nonlinear, personalit simultaneously carries the weight of an elite male tradition, beginning with its first practitioner, Michel de Montaigne. The Politics of the Essay: Feminist Perspectives examines the intersection of gender and genre that presents itself when women write essays. Employing gender, race, class, and national identity as axes of analysis, this volume introduces new perspectives into what has been a largely apolitical discussion of the essay. Representing various national literatures, the contributors investigate women essayists over the past two centuries. Also included is an original essay by Susan Griffin. The contributors include Tuzyline Jita Allan, Margret Brugmann, Ruth-Ellen Boetcher Joeres, Amy Kaminsky, Pamela Klass Mittlefehldt, Elizabeth Mittman, Lourdes Rojas, Barbara Sichtermann, Eileen B. Sivert, Katherine Snyder, Nancy Saporta Sternbach, Constance A. Sullivan, and Arlene A. Teraoka.