Elsie Robinson was a journalist known for her syndicated Hearst column “Listen, World!” Born into poverty in 1880s California, Robinson risked everything to chase her dream of becoming a writer and lead a life beyond what was prescribed to women at the time—even working in a gold mine as the sole female mucker as she tried to break into magazines. Ultimately, after a long and bumpy road, she succeeded and used her nationwide column to advocate for the rights of women, people of color and other underrepresented groups.
Author: Julia Scheeres
Julia Scheeres is the author of the New York Times–bestselling memoir Jesus Land and the award-winning A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Jonestown. She lives in Northern California.