Talking to the Girls: Intimate and Political Essays on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

"Talking to the Girls" is a powerful collection of intimate and personal stories by survivors, family members, descendants, scholars, and activists. Reading this collection shows us how stories echo across generations and how each generation receives them differently. What is especially important about this collection is the way it reminds us that reading history also tells us about the present. The use of memoir is not only creative but brings the reader into the moment, breathing life into the past. This is a must read."We deal with our ancestors' wounds — that's what we do in memoir." Annie Lanzillotto"We learn more about the parts of the sewing machine. Like the gas pedal in a car, a knee or foot revving up an engine can cause an accident if we're not careful." Paola Corso"...the fire became a catalyst for changes not only in fire safety but also in many areas of labor law, with historic effects on the lives of many Americans." editors, Edi Giunta & Mary Anne Trasciatti.

I was familiar with the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the impact it had on labor laws and working conditions but I still learned a lot reading this book. These essays show that remembering the tragedy is still important. I was inspired and surprised by all the creative ways women still remember the victims and the survivors. Like any anthology some essays are better than others but they were all worth reading.

This is an extraordinary volume of essays. You can dip in anywhere and be transported to a time when 146, mostly young women full of hope and optimism for their lives, were brutally snatched from this earth in a tragic factory fire. I mean no disrespect when I say that the victims start out, in the mind of this reader, as ghosts. Soon, however, they come fully alive through extraordinary remembrances, as well as the activism their deaths have spawned and that continues today 111 years later. These essays illustrate how an event a century ago is capable of touching and influencing all of our lives.

You maybe familiar with one of the most tragic work disasters in New York city and actually it was the worst worker disaster in the city before 9/11. In this tragedy there were 146 lifes lost and most were Women some as young as 14 years old. On March 25th 1911 was the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. This book does not go into the full history of the fire or tell the full stories of the workers involved. This is a collection of stories that are told from the view point of family members, teachers, scholars, those involved with labor and art. When you read the story from family members and they may have discovered how important or how much their family member was. The teachers who use this tragic story to draw in their classes and inspire them to learn and to be involve. This collection of stories are to remember those involved such as Frances Perkins who some say is responsible Social Security, Unemployment insurance, Child Labor Laws, and federal minimum wage witnessed this event and what it led her to accomplish. There are stories that lead those to action and even change lives. It also makes us aware that even though this was over a 100 years ago that we still have incidents like this today all over the world. I was a little concerned that this book would be a little dry or slow in reading but that was not the case. If you have not heard about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire i strongly encourage to read up on it and while you are at it read this book.