Frank swinnerton lola ridge essay

Ridge began publishing more of her poetry in journals such as the Dial, the New Republic, Poetry, and the Literary Digest. Ridge became linked to a circle of poets involved in the journal Others, including William Carlos Williams, Alfred Kreymborg, Marianne Moore, and Waldo Frank.

Her collections include Dance of Fire (1935), Firehead (1930), Red Flag (1927), Sun-up, and Other Poems (1920), and The Ghetto, and Other Poems (1918). Ridge moved to San Francisco in 1907 after her mother died. Though a 33-year-old divorcée, she held great hope for this fresh start.

Ridge became the American editor for Harold Loeb’s Broom in 1922 (which Loeb ran from Rome). What little salary Ridge earned was just barely enough to cover her living expenses. Ridge held weekly Broom salons, at which she momentarily gave up her dedication of poverty to feed tea and cakes to other writers.

Ridge was a poet and champion of the working class. Politically active before socialism became fashionable among New York intellectuals, Ridge participated in protests, marches, and pickets with ferocious spirit. Her writing is vigorous and electric.