The Politics of the Book

American Woman

This flow traces the proposed book from a source of imagined refuge to a stalled project that exposes conflicts over authorship, money, and action.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Commercial Offer The Commercial Offer from "American Woman". The Commercial Offer A Story for Sale Rob Frazer proposes a book that could earn money and carry the fugitives’ political message.

The Commercial Offer from "American Woman". The Commercial Offer A Story for Sale Rob Frazer proposes a book that could earn money and carry the fugitives’ political message.

The Commercial Offer A Story for Sale Rob Frazer proposes a book that could earn money and carry the fugitives’ political message. Juan hesitates over the form, while Yvonne calls the idea bourgeois and questions whether a commercial project serves their cause. A Temporary Agreement They accept reluctantly, partly because survival requires resources.

Eulogy Instead of Manuscript Eulogy Instead of Manuscript from "American Woman". Eulogy Instead of Manuscript Grief Takes the Work The fugitives write a memorial for their dead comrades rather than begin the book they promised Rob Frazer.

Eulogy Instead of Manuscript from "American Woman". Eulogy Instead of Manuscript Grief Takes the Work The fugitives write a memorial for their dead comrades rather than begin the book they promised Rob Frazer.

Eulogy Instead of Manuscript Grief Takes the Work The fugitives write a memorial for their dead comrades rather than begin the book they promised Rob Frazer. Jenny encourages them to mourn, believing that their grief must be faced before it can be turned into public narrative. A Different Purpose The eulogy becomes a message of vengeance, not a private step toward healing.

The Broadcast Detour The Broadcast Detour from "American Woman". The Broadcast Detour A Tape Sent Out Jenny arranges for the eulogy tape to reach a radio station through Dana.

The Broadcast Detour from "American Woman". The Broadcast Detour A Tape Sent Out Jenny arranges for the eulogy tape to reach a radio station through Dana.

The Broadcast Detour A Tape Sent Out Jenny arranges for the eulogy tape to reach a radio station through Dana. The broadcast gives the fugitives publicity but exposes their communications network and makes Dana feel endangered. The Project Loses Its Exclusive Rob Frazer sees the tape as a lost opening for the book, while Jenny sees it as a necessary act.

The Ghostwriter Dispute The Ghostwriter Dispute from "American Woman". The Ghostwriter Dispute A Project Expanded Rob Frazer brings in Alan to help turn the fugitives’ material into a publishable book.

The Ghostwriter Dispute from "American Woman". The Ghostwriter Dispute A Project Expanded Rob Frazer brings in Alan to help turn the fugitives’ material into a publishable book.

The Ghostwriter Dispute A Project Expanded Rob Frazer brings in Alan to help turn the fugitives’ material into a publishable book. The group has not agreed to this new arrangement, and Alan’s presence intensifies their suspicion of Rob Frazer. Words Versus Action Juan rejects the book as a substitute for revolutionary action and threatens the people who would make it possible.

A Thin Manuscript A Thin Manuscript from "American Woman". A Thin Manuscript A Project Never Completed Authorities later find only a small package of pages and a partly filled cassette from the trio’s efforts.

A Thin Manuscript from "American Woman". A Thin Manuscript A Project Never Completed Authorities later find only a small package of pages and a partly filled cassette from the trio’s efforts.

A Thin Manuscript A Project Never Completed Authorities later find only a small package of pages and a partly filled cassette from the trio’s efforts. The material is not the coherent book Rob Frazer had promised an editor, but fragments of a project repeatedly displaced by crisis. The Story’s Remains The unfinished work becomes another trace of the fugitives’ competing needs and unrealized plans.

During Rob Frazer’s first meeting with the fugitives

The first days at the farmhouse

Four days after the tape is mailed

After Rob Frazer brings Alan

After the arrests