Jessa Crispin (born c. 1978 in Lincoln, Kansas) is a critic, author, feminist, and the editor-in-chief of Bookslut, a litblog and webzine founded in 2002.[1] She has published four books, most recently My Three Dads (2022).[2]
Early life
Crispin is from Lincoln, Kansas; she has described both her hometown and upbringing in her family as very conservative.[3] She attended Baker University in Kansas for two years before leaving without a degree.[4][5]
Literary career
Crispin began her literary career as publishing outsider who started her blog Bookslut on the side while working at Planned Parenthood in Austin, Texas. She eventually came to support herself by writing and editing the site full-time.[6]Bookslut ran for 14 years, with the last issue announced in May 2016.[7]Bookslut received mentions in many national and international newspapers, including The New York Times Book Review and The Washington Post.
In 2018, Crispin married Nicolás Rodríguez Melo, partly in order to sponsor his visa, and interviewed him for her Public Intellectual podcast about the performance of masculinity and femininity.[13] She has criticized married women in the past: "Marriage’s history is about treating women as property, and by being married you’re legitimising that history."[14]
Works
The Dead Ladies Project: Exiles, Expats, and Ex-Countries (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2015, ISBN9780226278452)[15][16][17]
The Creative Tarot: A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2016, ISBN9781501120237)[18]
Why I Am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto (New York: Melville House, 2017, ISBN9781612196015)[2]
My Three Dads: Patriarchy on the Great Plains (University of Chicago Press, 2022, ISBN9780226820101)
^Elder, Robert K. (January 13, 2005). "For the love of books". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
^Bayne, Martha (November 13, 2003). "Bookslut Rising". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2022.