Helen Keller

“An outstanding collection, including many letters and photos that are being published for the first time.” —Dallas Morning News

When Helen Keller died in 1968, at the age of eighty-eight years old, she was one of the most widely known women in the world. The overnight success of her biography, The Story of My Life, written at age twenty-three, made it obvious to Keller that she was endowed with a gift for writing and speaking.

Helen Keller: Selected Writings collects Keller’s personal letters, political writings, speeches, and excerpts of her published materials from 1887 to 1968. The majority of the letters and some prints, all drawn from the Helen Keller Archives at the American Foundation for the Blind in New York, are being published for the first time. The book also includes an introductory essay by Kim E. Nielsen, headnotes to each document, and a selected bibliography of work by and about Keller.

Literature, education, advocacy, politics, religion, travel: the many interests of Helen Keller culminate in this book and are reflected in her spirited narration. Also portrayed are the individuals Keller inspired and took inspiration from, including her teacher Annie Sullivan, her family, and others with whom she formed friendships throughout the course of her life.

“Helen Keller: Selected Writings allows a fresh reassessment of one of the extraordinary figures of the twentieth century.” — Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Smith College

“A treasure trove for Keller enthusiasts and scholars alike.” —Douglas C. Baynton, author of Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign Against Sign Language