Throughout March, WTOP is celebrating Women’s History Month. Join us on-air and online as we honor the achievements of women in the D.C. region.
For Women’s History Month, Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh is highlighting books by and about women who shaped her life and career.
Kresh said the month is deeply meaningful to her.
“It’s a month that’s very important to me. I’m, I guess, second wave feminist. So I was very involved, all my adult life, in women’s issues,” Kresh said.
High on her list is “An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s” by Doris Kearns Goodwin — a book she said is “poignant, interesting” and provides great social history.
Kresh said she was drawn to Goodwin’s process of sifting through decades of her husband’s papers. Her husband was Dick Goodwin, a speechwriter and close adviser to Robert Kennedy.
“I liked reading about her process of going through hundreds and hundreds of boxes of material and trying to organize it to tell the story,” she said.
She also recommends “The Lady with the Borzoi: Blanche Knopf, Literary Tastemaker Extraordinaire” by Laura Claridge, calling Knopf’s impact on publishing overlooked but essential.
“I think a lot of times we don’t know that women had a huge role in publishing,” Kresh said.
Another meaningful read for her is “The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker” by Amy Reading.
Kresh noted that while many readers know E. B. White, fewer recognize his wife’s influence.
“Everybody knows E. B. White because they know ‘Stuart Little’ and ‘Charlotte’s Web,’ but Katharine was a very prominent editor at The New Yorker, which just celebrated its 100th anniversary,” Kresh said.
Her list also features “Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry” by Imani Perry, which she chose because Hansberry’s legacy resonated with her background in theater.
It is a portrait of the writer of “A Raisin in the Sun,” who was also an activist and member of the LGBTQ community. Hansberry, she said, is someone whose impact would have been even greater had she lived longer.
Rounding out her list is “Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight” by Julia Sweig, a biography that reframes the former first lady as a key political strategist and environmental advocate. Kresh said Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson’s legacy, including the beautification efforts she remembers from growing up in Arlington, still shapes the region today.
“I remember the beautification program and all the daffodils you see on the GW Parkway — all thanks to Lady Bird Johnson,” she said.
And on the pop culture side of her list, the story of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol’s muse and transgender icon, called “Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar” by Cynthia Carr.
“Because who doesn’t love Warhol and the Warhol factory and pop culture?” Kresh said.
Kresh said her goal with every list is simple.
“My goal in making lists is that people should read. You find out about the world, you find out about yourself,” she said.
See the full list of Women’s History Month books from Arlington Public Library on its website.