Brenda Ueland (1891-1985) was an American writer, journalist, editor, teacher, and advocate for creative independence. She wrote fiction, essays, journalism, memoir, and books on writing, but her lasting reputation rests especially on If You Want to Write, a work that has remained influential among writers, artists, teachers, and readers interested in creativity and the inner life of making art. Graywolf Press notes that Ueland was the author of three books, wrote many articles and short stories, and spent years teaching writing.Ueland's approach to writing was grounded in truthfulness, freedom, close observation, and trust in the creative power of ordinary people. She resisted the idea that art belongs only to the credentialed, polished, or professionally sanctioned. In If You Want to Write, she presents writing as a moral and imaginative practice: a way of paying attention, telling the truth, developing independence, and refusing the deadening effects of fear, vanity, and false authority. For readers of classic writing guides, creativity books, women's literary nonfiction, and spiritually serious self-culture, Ueland remains a direct and invigorating voice.