Virginia Wright-Peterson, author of A Woman’s War, Too: Women at Work During World War II
Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction, sponsored by Bookmobile Craft Digital
Each week leading up to the 33rd annual Minnesota Book Awards announcement, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our 36 finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
In a year defined by a pandemic and its fallout, virtually everything about our lives has changed in some way. How has COVID-19 impacted your writing habits and preferences? Has the unique zeitgeist of the past year influenced your writing output in any ways that you can pinpoint?
I am hyper-aware that we are living through one of those challenging moments in history that I have only read about before. I see myself, all of us, responding in various ways to the pandemic, systemic racism, and threats to our democracy. We have choices and what we choose matters more than ever. We can see how our actions — as simple as deciding to wear a mask, or not, — have life and death implications. I feel deeply moved and obligated to witness and act, especially with the rise of disinformation. For me, taking action means writing.
Would you tell us one or two things about your finalist book that you are particularly proud of, and why? (Sure, it may feel a bit un-Minnesotan to say so, but it’s not boasting if we ask!)
A Woman’s War, Too opens a trove of stories about women during WWII that haven’t been told before, and I believe they recast how we look at war. A lot of what happens during war takes place off the battlefield, yet so much of what is written about wars is focused on the battles. An immense amount of effort happens backstage and without it there wouldn’t be food, uniforms, ammunition, etc. on the battlefield. How many people know that women from Minnesota served in every branch of the military, were spies, cryptologists, scientists, journalists, meat packers, miners, and munition specialists?
What do you hope that your audience learns or takes away from your book?
I want readers to wonder why today only 8% of commercial pilot licenses are held by women when women proved themselves to be exemplary pilots over 75 years ago? Why aren’t there more women welders or in other trades today? Why hasn’t a movie about WWII focused on women?
Minnesota enjoys a reputation as a place that values literature and reading. If this sentiment rings true for you, what about our home state makes it such a welcoming and conductive place for writers?
Minnesota is full of readers! Readers make Minnesota a great place for writers. And libraries and publishers, of course. They connect the writers to the readers.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer with an interest in your category?
Write about what you love. It takes an immense amount of time to do the research. You need to love the research as much as the writing.
Tell us something about yourself that is not widely known! (It doesn’t have to be about your writing.)
The time I spent on deployment with the Red Cross in Iraq and teaching in Algiers changed me — the way I see myself and the world. My grandchildren also influence me with their curiosity and wonder.
Virginia Wright-Peterson has taught writing for over fifteen years and is on the administrative team at the University of Minnesota Rochester. She is the author of Women of the Mayo Clinic: The Founding Generation, a Minnesota Book Award finalist.