Credit: Melvin Henriksen
Media type: photograph
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Annotation: Russian-Polish immigrant and author Anzia Yezierska often wrote about the struggles of Jewish immigrant women. Yezierska herself worked as a house servant and toiled in the sweatshops in New York before becoming a teacher. Her collection of short stories, Hungry Hearts, was highly successful and Hollywood bought the rights to the book. The success dubbed her the “Sweatshop Cinderella.” She also had a life-long friendship with John Dewey, the well-known philosopher and proponent of educational reform. It is believed that Dewy bought Yezierska her first typewriter.