Tillie Olsen by Mickey Pearlman, Abby H. P. Werlock

Appropriating Left-Speech

“…She offered her service to put down what she was told but disclaimed authority above her material, she described herself as a life-long listener, but not more. 16 The emphasis on the oral origin is important for other reasons as well. The Left saw the possibility of challenging the cultural order in recording the experience of the working class and developed the theory of prol etarian realism heavily relying on reportage as participant observation and oral history.…”