Emma by Howard Zinn

Emma Reviews

• 
  olivia

  This play was so bad it was funny. Can't say I'll recommend this text or ever seek out a live performance of the play, but the unintended comedy of Zinn's overly dramatic and stilted stage-writing made for an amusing introduction to Jewish Anarchism.
• 
  Brian

  For some reason, I thought this was a biography, not the script for a play and picked it up because I wanted to learn more about Emma Goldman. Instead, I got a dramatization of the most commonly known events in her life. A quick read with lots of fluff, little substance. The dialog is stilted and none of the characters really develop. Too bad, given Emma's interest in good theater. I expected better from Howard Zinn.
• 
  Camille Tinnin

  I really wanted to enjoy this because I love Howard Zinn but he is decidedly not a playwright. If you want a quick read that gives some of the big events of Goldman’s life, this would work. It took me about an hour to read. However, the dialogue felt clunky and I didn’t feel like I got to know the characters. Zinn’s introduction is fantastic- he does what he does so well- outlines lesser known history and tie it to the present (the present being very much the past now, as this was published originally in the late 80s and then reprinted in 2002).
  
  I really can’t imagine a staging of this- maybe seeing it on stage would be better? I appreciate him seeking to tell Emma’s story to a broader audience and am glad to see more positive reviews that show that for others that really worked. It just wasn’t for me.
  
  If you want to jump into Zinn in an accessible way, I recommend “A People’s History of The American Empire”. It’s a graphic novel and uses that medium very well, in my opinion. It’s par autobiography part history. I haven’t finished it yet, but only because the subject matter is so heavy that I have to read it in small doses and then leave it for a month or more.
• 
  Nat Roberts

  Zinn is a first rate historian and essayist, in fact his work was crucial to my radicalization. But as a playwright? His pacing is non-existent and his dialogue reads like it came out of a tin can. The most effective scenes come from Emma's speaking tour, which is unsurprising since they mostly draw on her real works – which are vital and lively whether printed or spoken. It hurts to be so critical of a writer who means so much to me, but to spare this critique would feel dishonest
• 
  Rhuddem Gwelin

  Zinn and Goldberg, the only thing lacking is actually seeing it on stage.
• 
  Mohamed Gamal

  جايز تكون شخصية ايما مثيرة للاهتمام انما المسرحية في حد ذاتها مملة جدا
  جايز لو كانت المسرحية رواية كانت بقت افضل انما الجو المسرحي دة مش مناسب خالص للشخصية
  النجمتين للمقدمة اللي حقيقي كانت حلوة
• 
  Jamal

  howard zinn became so horny for a political figure that he wrote a play about her. she is of course excellent but that's beside the point.
• 
  Cecilia

  So, this is what happens when historians write plays. It's not a good play. The characters are flat. The narrative is episodic, rushed, disjointed, and difficult to follow. However, as a history of Emma Goldman's life and the anarchist movement at the time in America, it's a nice easy little read. Howard Zinn does a fantastic job at what he's good at. He makes you understand that activists are real people who are passionate, brave, and intelligent. They came from somewhere and they make choices that aren't easy. This is the problem with writing a play about a person and not an event. Real life is made up of a series of events that don't necessarily make a cohesive narrative. So, plays like this always turn into "and then this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened."
  
  On the other hand, it's sort of fun to read about people who believed in "free love" and were against marriage because they were "against all institutions that demand subservience" in the early 1900s.
• 
  Phebe

  Howard Zinn is decidedly NOT a playwright. I enjoyed the introduction and learned quite a lot about many fascinating, courageous people— only to be disappointed by flat, stiff characters with all the fire and sensuality of a streetlamp in daylight. Skip this, and read a biography of the titular Emma instead.
• 
  Caroline Watson-Felt

  I really liked this play. The one note I have is that there are a few moments when I feel that the dialogue is a little overly dramatic - a common flaw when writing a piece which takes place in the past. Overall, terrific though - great historical figure and a great play!
• 
  Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea

  I could hear Emma Goldman through this play. I found it enjoyable to read.
• 
  Carolyn Fitzpatrick

  An interesting biography of Emma Goldman and her pursuit of anarchy, free love, gender equality, and urban reform in the early 20th century.
• 
  Brea Grant

  i like the subject. i like the author. i thought the play was okay.
• 
  Mino

  "The movement needs us to live for it, not to die for it."
• 
  Jacquelyn Fusco

  Get an insight into a short period during Emma's life. I want to read a full biography now.