What does it mean to find your voice? How do you respond when people tell you to “write what you know?”

Dana Rubin, ’81 SY, has been exploring these questions for many years as a journalist and non-fiction writer. Her latest project — she calls it “an obsession” — is the research and recovery of overlooked women’s speeches from history. 

Dana will be sharing what she’s uncovered about the secret history of American women’s speech, and what drew her into an ongoing, multi-year project to excavate overlooked speeches by women in history, by the thousands, and to write about her discoveries. 

She’s just published a new anthology of American women’s speeches, Speaking While Female: 75 Extraordinary Speeches by American Women. And she also created a companion resource, the Speaking While Female Speech Bank, a free archive with thousands of speeches by women from around the world and across time. 

She’ll share what she’s learned about the motivation not just to write what we know, but to speak out too. 

This will be a talk + discussion. Dana will share her insights about her work as a professional writer and what she’s learned from her foray into the publishing world — followed by an open discussion.

Dana Rubin is a consultant, speechwriter, and speaker who’s on a mission to encourage more women to put their views into the public square. She has just published a women’s speech anthology, "Speaking While Female: 75 Extraordinary Speeches by American Women,” which tells the story of America through the voices of women, from 1637-2021. She also created a free companion resource, the Speaking While Female Speech Bank, to broaden our understanding of the role of women orators in history. It’s the world’s largest online archive of women’s speeches from around the world and across time, free for anyone to use.  Dana leads workshops that support women to be thought leaders, subject matter experts, brand ambassadors, and role models for future generations.

Join a community of YaleWomen writers on Zoom to share successes and challenges, exchange tips on the craft and business of writing, and remind ourselves that all of our stories matter. All writers are welcome, regardless of genre, medium, or level of experience.

Second and fourth Monday of each month at 7:30 pm EST/EDT.

You'll receive an email with the login info after you RSVP. Hope to "see" you on Zoom!