Lola Ridge

Lola Ridge
Lola Ridge (1873–1941) was an Irish-American poet, editor, and social activist known for her radical political views and innovative free verse poetry. She was a key figure in the modernist literary movement and was associated with leftist causes, particularly labor rights and women's suffrage. Her major works include "The Ghetto" (1918), a collection that explores the struggles of immigrant life in New York City, and "Firehead" (1929), which reflects on the horrors of war. Ridge also edited important literary magazines like "Broom" and "Others," helping to shape the avant-garde poetry scene of her time.

Author's Books:


THE GHETTO I   Cool, inaccessible air  Is floating in velvety blackness shot with steel-blue lights,  But no breath stirs the heat  Leaning its ponderous bulk upon the Ghetto  And most on Hester street…   The heat…  Nosing in the body's overflow,  Like a beast pressing its great steaming belly close,  Covering all avenues of air…   The heat in Hester street,  Heaped... more...

CELIA Cherry, cherry, glowing on the hearth, bright red cherry…. When you try to pick up cherry Celia's shriek sticks in you like a pin. : : When God throws hailstones you cuddle in Celia's shawl and press your feet on her belly high up like a stool. When Celia makes umbrella of her hand. Rain falls through big pink spokes of her fingers. When wind blows Celia's gown up off her legs... more...