Bette Howland


Bette Howland was an American writer and literary critic. She wrote for Commentary Magazine.

Personal life

Born Bette Lee Sotonoff to Sam Sotonoff, a machinist, and Jessie Berger, a homemaker, much of her work focused on her native Chicago, although she left the city in 1975.
In 1956, she married Howard Howland, a biologist. The couple had two sons but later separated and divorced, although she kept his surname. She worked as a librarian and did editorial work for the University of Chicago Press.

Critical reappraisal

In 2013 editor Brigid Hughes found Howland's book, W-3 and decided to include some of Howland's work in an issue of the literary journal A Public Space dedicated to obscure and forgotten women writers.
A Public Space eventually decided to publish some of Howland's stories through their imprint in 2019, under the title Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage.

Awards

Howland died on December 13, 2017 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, aged 80. She suffered from multiple sclerosis and dementia. She was survived by her two sons, Jacob and Frank; a sister, Mrs. Rochelle Altman; five grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.