Brenda Ueland

Brenda Ueland (October 24, 1891 – March 5, 1985) was a journalist, editor, freelance writer, and teacher of writing. She is best known for her book If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit.

Brenda was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Andreas and Clara Hampson Ueland. She was the third of seven children. She attended Wells and Barnard colleges and received her baccalaureate from Barnard in 1913. She lived in and around New York City for much of her adult life before returning to Minnesota in 1930. Brenda was raised in a relatively progressive household; her father, an immigrant from Norway, was a prominent lawyer and judge. Her mother was a suffragette and served as the first president of the Minnesota League of Women Voters. Brenda would spend her life as a staunch feminist and is said to have lived by two rules: To tell the truth, and to not do anything she didn't want to.

Brenda Ueland had a varied and prolific career. She freelanced for many publications including the Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, Golfer and Sportsman, and varied newspapers. She was a staff writer for Liberty Magazine and the Minneapolis Times, among other publications. She worked for two years (1915–1917) as an editor for Crowell Publishing in New York City.

Brenda wrote scripts for radio shows including a program entitled Tell Me More, which featured Ueland responding to listener's personal problems, and Stories for Girl Heroes, a children's program about notable women. She also taught many local writing classes starting in 1934. In 1946, while covering the treason trials of Vidkun Quisling, she was awarded the Knight of Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olaf by the Norwegian government.

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