Meridel Le Sueur - "Women On The Breadlines"

"Women On The Breadlines"

The short 1932 piece "Women on the Breadlines" is one of Le Sueur's most recognized proleterian works. Here, LeSueur wrote of the struggles that women faced during the Depression Era and how they were confined to limiting roles. While most of the characters presented in this work are struggling women searching for work, some are depicted as having nowhere to go but to "work in the streets." Through this and other works, Le Sueur opened the door for future female artists that wanted to write confrontational poetry, mediating the personal and the political.