15. Marge Piercy
If you haven’t noticed by now, then it bears stating that genre is something of a false demarcation. Yes, sometimes it’s helpful from an organizational perspective, but it rarely goes beyond that. Perhaps readers, writers, and editors get a little too caught up in artificially-imposed elements of a genre, whether it’s the twee elements of a certain kind of romance or the tech-focused oddness of science fiction. Some of the best work in a given genre buck trends and turn a blind eye to the borders around their lands.
Marge Piercy is one of those writers who doesn’t appear to care especially for genre conventions. At any rate, her life speaks to the wide range of interests and causes that have shaped her. As the first person in her family to attend college, Piercy went on to earn an MA from Northwestern, all while becoming involved as an organizer for Marxist political movements and environmental causes. On top of that, she’s also an awarded novelist and poet.
Piercy’s political focus also frequently ties in with her feminism, both of which figure greatly into her fictional work. In Woman on the Edge of Time (1976), protagonist Connie deals with the dystopia of her present world, where she is unfairly committed to a mental institution against her will. However, because of Connie’s unique empathy and mental abilities, she can communicate with Luciente, who hails from the year 2137.
Luciente’s world sounds a fair sight better than Connie’s, considering her society has properly addressed issues like homelessness, sexism, racial inequality, classism, food insecurity and more. This inspires Connie to enact a revolution in her own time and bring about the accessible utopia of Luciente’s time, tying in neatly with Piercy’s Marxist and feminist ideals.