May 27, 2022

Title: QUARTER TO FIVE

Constructor: Wendy L. Brandes

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

ANGELOU (21A: *Maya ___, "Still I Rise" poet)

MANKILLER (37A: *Wilma ___, first woman elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation)

OTERO-WARREN (57A: *Nina ___, suffragist who advocated for bilingual education)

WONG (70A: *Anna May ___, first Chinese American Hollywood movie star)

RIDE (72A: *Sally ___, first American woman in space)

Theme synopsis: Each of the FIVE women named in the theme answers will be featured on a QUARTER in 2022.

And now a word from our constructor:

Wendy: The theme of this puzzle is near and dear to my heart. It is very meaningful to me that women are now being recognized in ways that I wish they had been when I was growing up. It can't be overstated how important representation is.
One quick story about representation -- After noticing that women are depicted in about 50% of public statues in Reykjavik, a dear friend of mine, Pamela Hogan, a filmmaker, decided to investigate and learned that after a women's strike in 1975, women have gained a real measure of equality. Her film examines the transformation of Icelandic society with respect to women's rights. Information about her film can be found here: https://www.wmm.com/sponsored-project/the-long-friday/ I think that small steps, like broadening the idea of who our country's heroes are, can help us move to true equality of the sexes.

As always, Erik and Amanda and the rest of the USA Today team were instrumental in shaping this puzzle. Many thanks to all.

Things I learned:

• SAT (23A: Used a zabuton) A zabuton is a cushion used for sitting, generally when sitting on the floor. Zabuton are found throughout Japan. A zabuton may be SAT on by itself, or in conjunction with a zaisu, a type of legless chair that provides back support.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ANGELOU (21A: *Maya ___, "Still I Rise" poet) Maya Angelou (1928-2014) published seven autobiographies, multiple collections of poetry, several children's books, multiple plays, and even a couple of cookbooks. Her poem, "Still I Rise," was first published in 1978. With the release of the Maya ANGELOU quarters in January of this year, she became the first Black woman to be depicted on a quarter. The Maya ANGELOU quarter depicts the writer with her arms outstretched, in front of a flying bird and a sunrise.
• MANKILLER (37A: *Wilma ___, first woman elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation) As the clue tells us, Wilma MANKILLER (1945-2010) was the first woman to be elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, a position she held from 1985-1995. Wilma MANKILLER was born in Oklahoma, but moved to San Francisco with her family at the age of 11 as part of a federal government program to urbanize indigenous Americans. She was involved in fundraising and support for the Red Power occupation of Alcatraz Island (1969-1971) which I have previously written about, and that event inspired her to become involved in advocating for civil rights. The release date for Wilma MANKILLER's quarter has not been announced yet. The design depicts Wilma MANKILLER wearing a shawl, and features a seven-pointed Cherokee star and "ᏣᎳᎩᎪ ᎠᏰᏢ" ("Cherokee Nation" written in Cherokee syllabary).
• OTERO-WARREN (57A: *Nina ___, suffragist who advocated for bilingual education) Nina OTERO-WARREN (1881-1965) was a suffragist, educator, and politician. She was the first woman to serve as New Mexico's Santa Fe Superintendent of Instruction, which she did from 1917-1929. During her tenure, she made curriculum changes that emphasized bilingual and bicultural education.  One of the changes Nina OTERO-WARREN made while she was superintendent was to institute no punishment for speaking Spanish in the classroom or in the schoolyard. Instead, Spanish instruction was utilized. At a time when schools in southwestern states were punishing children for speaking Spanish, this approach was revolutionary. The release date for Nina OTERO-WARREN's quarter has not been announced yet. The design depicts Nina OTERO-WARREN with three Yucca flowers, and the Spanish phrase, "Voto para la mujer" (Vote for women). Nina OTERO-WARREN will be the first Hispanic American to appear on U.S. currency.
• WONG (70A: *Anna May ___, first Chinese American Hollywood movie star) Anna May WONG (1905-1961) Anna May WONG made her first movie appearances during the silent film era. In 1921, she dropped out of high school to pursue a full time acting career. She went on to star in numerous movies and TV shows, and as the clue informs us, is credited as being the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star. The release date for Anna May WONG's quarter has not been announced yet. The design features Anna May WONG surrounded by marquee lights. Anna May WONG will be the first Asian American to appear on U.S. currency.
• RIDE (72A: *Sally ___, first American woman in space) Dr. Sally RIDE (1951-2012) was the first female American astronaut in space, as a crew member on Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. Sally RIDE also wrote children's books about space, aimed at encouraging children to study science. With the release of the Sally RIDE quarter in March of this year, she became the first known LGBTQ+ person to appear on U.S. Currency. The quarter's design features Sally RIDE next to a Space Shuttle window, with Earth in the background.
• AMY (4D: Author Tan) Although AMY Tan is not slated to appear on a quarter, (According to an 1866 law, no living person can be portrayed on U.S. currency.) it was definitely nice to see another woman in the puzzle. AMY Tan is the author of The Joy Luck Club (1989), and The Kitchen God's Wife (1991), as well as other novels, short stories, children's books, and works of non-fiction.
• OREO (9D: Cookie in an Alice Wu short film) Alice Wu's short film, titled "The Note," was released in April of this year to announce a partnership between OREO and PFLAG. If you haven't seen it, I recommend taking two minutes out of your day to watch it. The short film shows a young man coming out to his parents (by reading a note), and then preparing for his maternal grandmother to arrive. The short film ends with the words, "Coming out doesn't just happen once," and encouragement to "Be a Lifelong Ally."

Geography review:

• ITALY (24A: Venice's country) Venice is located in northeastern ITALY. Venice is built on 118 small islands connected by the city's famous canals. Over 400 bridges span the canals and connect the islands.
• SLC (49A: Utah's capital, for short) Salt Lake City, abbreviated as SLC, is the capital of Utah and its most populous city. Founded in 1847 by a group of Mormons escaping religious persecution and led by Brigham Young, the city was originally named Great Salt Lake City because it is near the Great Salt Lake. The "Great" was dropped from the city's name in 1868. 

When I read the title of a puzzle, I try to guess how the theme will play out before I solve. Today's title stumped me for a bit, but I did formulate a guess...that ended up being wrong. The actual theme was much cleverer and better than what I came up with! I knew my guess was wrong when I encountered Maya ANGELOU, but didn't get the "Aha!" moment until I uncovered Wilma MANKILLER. I then remembered mentioning these FIVE women and their appearance on QUARTERs in my write-up of the March 25, 2022 puzzle. What a great way to recognize the first FIVE women honored as a part of the American Women QUARTERs Program. I am looking forward to collecting all of these QUARTERs. The plan is to honor up to five women a year through 2025. The 2023 honorees have been announced: Bessie Coleman, Edith Kanaka'ole, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jovita Idar, and Maria Tallchief. (Another QUARTER TO FIVE puzzle next year, perhaps?) One thing I learned about the QUARTERs today is that, while the obverse side of the QUARTERs will feature George Washington, the portrait of him will be different than the one appearing on other QUARTERs. The portrait on the American Women QUARTERs will be a right-facing George Washington that was sculpted by a woman artist, Lara Gardin Fraser. A nice touch. This puzzle has left-right mirror symmetry to accommodate the theme answers of varying lengths. It's lucky that Anna May WONG and Sally RIDE each have last names with four letters, allowing them to be tucked into the corners. In addition to the theme, I enjoyed the answers IT'S OPEN, ORGANIC, CANNOLI, MILK CRATES, TAKES COVER, and DO AS I DO. Lots of fun clues today, as well. I particularly liked POLAR (15A: Word before "bear" or "vortex"), ROCK (36A: It beats scissors), and DRESS (55D: Garment that some "say yes" to). Thank you, Wendy, for this puzzle that was a fabulous way to begin my Friday.