"Candid and intimate accounts of the factory-worker tragedy that shaped American labor rights. On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the eighth floor of the Asch Building in Greenwich Village, New York. The top three floors housed the Triangle Waist Company, a factory where approximately 500 workers, mostly young immigrant women and girls, labored to produce fashionable cotton blouses, known as "waists." The fire killed 146 workers in a mere 15 minutes but pierced the perpetual conscience of citizens everywhere. The Asch Building had been considered a modern fireproof structure, but inadequate fire safety regulations left the workers inside unprotected. The tragedy of the fire, and the resulting movements for change, were pivotal in shaping workers' rights and unions. A powerful collection of diverse voices, Talking to the Girls: Intimate and Political Essays on the Triangle Fire brings together stories from writers, artists, activists, scholars, and family members of the Triangle workers. Nineteen contributors from across the globe speak of a singular event with remarkable impact. One hundred and eleven years after the tragic incident, Talking to the Girls articulates a story of contemporary global relevance and stands as an act of collective testimony: a written memorial to the Triangle victims"--.

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Introduction: Talking to the GirlsEdvige Giunta and Mary Anne Trasciatti
• Part One: Witnesses
• 1. Another Spring Annie Rachele Lanzillotto
• 2. The New Deal Began with My Grandmother Frances Perkins Tomlin Perkins Coggeshall and the Reverend Charles Hoffacker
• 3. The Triangle Factory Fire and the City of Two Who Survived Ellen Gruber Garvey
• 4. Girl Talk Paola Corso
• Part Two: Families
• 5. A Legacy of Grief: In Search of Rosie Weiner Suzanne Pred Bass
• 6. My Father, Isidore Abramowitz Martin Abramowitz
• 7. The Two Roses: A Great-Niece Remembers Annie Schneiderman Valliere
• 8. Triangle in Two Acts: From Bubbe Mayses to Bangladesh Annelise Orleck
• Part Three: Teachers
• 9. Teaching the Triangle Fire to Middle School Students Kimberly Schiller
• 10. Remembering the Triangle Fire in California Laura E. Ruberto
• 11. Teaching the Girls: The Triangle Fire as Affective History Jacqueline Ellis
• Part Four: Movements
• 12. Solidarity Forever! May Y. Chen
• 13. Remembering Family: Labor Activism and the Triangle Fire Michele Fazio
• 14. They Were Not There: A Rumination on the Meaning of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire to Black Garment Workers in Early-Twentieth-Century New York City Janette Gayle
• Part Five: Memorials
• 15. Chalk and Smoke, Fabric and Thread: Reflections on Feminist Commemoration and the Triangle Fire Ellen Wiley Todd
• 16. And They Returned Home: Italy Remembers the Triangle Fire Women Ester Rizzo Licata (Translated by Edvige Giunta)
• 17. The Fabric of Memory Richard Joon Yoo
• Epilogue: Listening to Kalpona Kalpona Akter (Interviewed by Edvige Giunta and Mary Anne Trasciatti)
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix 1: The Literature of the Triangle Fire
• Appendix 2: Contributors Reflect on Their Processes
• Bibliography
• About the Editors and Contributors