"I Want You Women up North to Know" is the first published poem by Tillie Olsen, appearing in the Partisan Review (March 1934). It is based on a letter to the editor of New Masses written by Felipe Ibarro about worker exploitation in a San Antonio garment manufacturing company. Historical Context The poem is based on Felipe Ibarro's letter to the editor which was published in New Masses on January 9, 1934. The letter specifies the Juvenile Manufacturing Corporation in San Antonio, Texas as a source of exploitation for the four women it references. Both Olsen's poem and Ibarro's letter have been called proletarian literature, a popular school of writing in the United States in the 1930s. Because of its basis on Ibarro's letter, Olsen's poem also fits within the genre of workers correspondence. At the time the poem was written, magazines supporting the proletarian movement sought writings from working class individuals about their lives and experiences. Outline Like Felipe Ibarro's letter, "I Want You Women up North to Know" uses a first person narration to address women consumers in the northern United States. In the poem, Olsen describes four female garment workers who are each referenced in Ibarro's letter: Catalina Rodriguez, Maria Vasquez, Catalina Torres, and Ambrosa Espinoza. In both the poem and the letter, each woman's wages, work, and challenging living situation is described. Contrasts with the Letter Although Olsen follows Ibarro's descriptions of the four women in her writing, the poem also contains some differences. One of these differences is the added imagery throughout the poem. At the beginning of the poem, Olsen uses words and phrases such as: "dyed in blood, are stitched in wasting flesh", "bloated face", and "gouging the wages down" to emphasize the unfavorable working conditions of the women. She also more deeply describes the women's bodies and thoughts in each of their respective sections. Unlike Ibarro's letter, Olsen also references the women workers a second time as she summarizes their struggle toward the end of the poem. This again emphasizes the poor working and living conditions of the workers and the daily challenges each of them face. In this part of the poem, Olsen mentions prostitution a second time as being another option for women in this context to make money. This reference to prostitution occurs twice in the poem and once in the letter. Interpretations and Analysis Suzanne Lynch notes that