Mary Heaton Vorse (1874–1966,) born Mary Marvin Heaton, was an American journalist, novelist, and labor activist dedicated to social justice and workers’ rights. She played a key role in documenting labor movements and advocating progressive causes.
Born in New York City, Vorse was raised in Amherst, Massachusetts, in a wealthy, well-traveled family. She studied art in Paris but shifted to writing. Her career started with light fiction before she became a leading labor journalist, covering strikes and social movements.
Notable works include Autobiography of an Elderly Woman (1911,) Men and Steel (1920,) Strike! (1930,) and The Whole Family: A Novel by Twelve Authors (1908.) She published over 400 articles in The Masses, The New Republic, and The New Yorker, focusing on labor struggles, women’s rights, and social issues.
She spent her later years in Provincetown, Massachusetts, engaged with the Provincetown Players, an influential theater group. Vorse actively participated in protests and was monitored by the U.S. Justice Department after reporting from Bolshevik Russia. She shaped public discourse on labor rights and feminism.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Mary Heaton Vorse
The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.
—Mary Heaton Vorse
Topics: Authors & Writing, Writers, Writing
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