Who are the women who have inspired you the most?

Each person will have a different list of personal women in their life – mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, teacher, etc. (in this category I would put my Aunt Mary, who taught me the function of a sense of humor).

 As for general influences, I would put Susan Sontag, Megan Terry, and Joanie Mitchell on my list. Susan Sontag was a brilliant scholar, essayist, and author; her discussion of the power of photography, in On...

Each person will have a different list of personal women in their life – mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, teacher, etc. (in this category I would put my Aunt Mary, who taught me the function of a sense of humor).

 As for general influences, I would put Susan Sontag, Megan Terry, and Joanie Mitchell on my list. Susan Sontag was a brilliant scholar, essayist, and author; her discussion of the power of photography, in On Photography, was the most influential book in my graduate school days, not only from its content (a sociological study of the effect of photographic techniques on our perception of the world), but also for its strong scholarly methodology. Megan Terry broke many dramatic/theatrical molds with her Calm Down, Mother and Keep Tightly Closed in a Cool, Dark Place. The influence of Joanie Mitchell came from her songs, a cross between pop and folk music. These women all retained their female identity without compromising the power of their minds, and they all taught me to observe the world from a humanistic, not merely a masculine, perspective.