Posts Tagged literature

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By Katherine Cross • 9 years ago

Our Dangerous Ideology: Insurgent Literature on Activism

We, especially those of us in feminist movements, seem to relive the wracking debates of our movement’s past lives, and as people of colour in particular we seem condemned at times to a Groundhog Day of vexatious, soul-wrenching debates about our role in not just activism, but life itself. Are we selling out if we [insert anything slightly fun or remunerative here]? What does it mean to be authentically [insert ethnicity/race here]? The radical wing of activism presents one with equal dilemmas about living one’s values. “Be the change you want to see in the world,” and a dozen other tiresome clichés that have been reincarnated as inspirational Facebook memes. But all these swarms of corkscrewing questions pale before the ...

We, especially those of us in feminist movements, seem to relive the wracking debates of our movement’s past lives, and as people of colour in particular we seem condemned at times to a Groundhog Day of vexatious, ...
By Suzanna Bobadilla • 10 years ago

The Feministing Five: Lisa Factora-Borchers

As a recovering literature major, literary-based-activism will always jolt my feminist heart to skip a beat. Which is why I was   so thrilled to speak with Lisa Factora-Bochers, a rad Filipina American writer, facilitator, and activist, and to discuss her new recently published anthology, Dear Sister: Letters from Survivors of Sexual Violence.  Especially within the current context of public invalidation of survivors’ voices, Dear Sister is a fantastic example of community-building via the written word as it gathers the power of survivors’ own narratives.

In particular, I appreciated Lisa’s editorial foresight to categorize the anthology into sections, leaving textual markers for readers to take a break, as I did, to call a friend or a go on a quick ...

As a recovering literature major, literary-based-activism will always jolt my feminist heart to skip a beat. Which is why I was   so thrilled to speak with Lisa Factora-Bochers, a rad Filipina American writer, facilitator, and ...
By Gwendolyn Beetham • 10 years ago

The Academic Feminist: Koritha Mitchell on lynching, LGBT violence, and love

Welcome back, Academic Feminists. This month’s edition features Koritha Mitchell,
Associate Professor of English at The Ohio State University. Her research, which is focused on African-American literature, racial violence, and black drama and performance, has been supported by the Ford Foundation and the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Here, Koritha discusses her award-winning book, Living with Lynching, and her more recent work “Love in Action,” which draws connections between the underlying causes of lynching and contemporary violence against LGBT communities.  Along the way, she shares some of her feminist inspirations and important insights on self-care. You can find out more about Koritha’s work on her blog Kori’s Commentary  and her blog about her book Living ...

Welcome back, Academic Feminists. This month’s edition features Koritha Mitchell,
Associate Professor of English at The Ohio State University. Her research, which is focused on African-American literature, racial violence, and black drama and performance, has ...
By Lori Adelman • 10 years ago

Coverflip challenge reimagines famous dude book covers as by and for women

Yesterday author Maureen Johnson, fed up with sexist responses to the perceived gender appeal of her books covers, issued a challenge to her followers. She writes:

You are informed about a book’s perceived quality through a number of ways. Probably the biggest is the cover….

And the simple fact of the matter is, if you are a female author, you are much more likely to get the package that suggests the book is of a lower perceived quality. Because it’s “girly,” which is somehow inherently different and easier on the palate. A man and a woman can write books about the same subject matter, at the same level of quality, and that woman is simple more likely ...

Yesterday author Maureen Johnson, fed up with sexist responses to the perceived gender appeal of her books covers, issued a challenge to her followers. She writes:

You are informed about a book’s perceived quality through ...
By Maya Dusenbery • 10 years ago

Quote of the Day: “People only say I’m angry because I’m black and I’m a woman.”

Novelist Jamaica Kincaid offers some #realtalk in response to a question about the role of anger and humor in her writing in a recent interview at The American Reader.

People only say I’m angry because I’m black and I’m a woman. But all sorts of people write with strong feeling, the way I do. But if they’re white, they won’t say it. I used to just pretend I didn’t notice it, and now I just think I don’t care.

There are all sorts of reasons not to like my writing. But that’s not one of them. Saying something is angry is not a criticism. It’s not valid. It’s not a valid observation in terms of criticism. You can list ...

Novelist Jamaica Kincaid offers some #realtalk in response to a question about the role of anger and humor in her writing in a recent interview at The American Reader.

People only say I’m angry because ...
By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Happy 200th anniversary, Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen’s famous novel Pride and Prejudice was first published on January 28th, 1812, 200 years ago today. While Austen’s work isn’t exactly an experiment in radical intersectional rebellion, she was a proto-feminist thinker who created independently-minded female characters, identified obstacles that kept other women from writing, and paved the way for female writers after her. If you’re a fan looking to celebrate with like-minded readers, or just gawk at all the fuss, you’ve got some options:

Fight your way into a reconstruction of the Netherfield Ball hosted by the BBC. Or, more realistically, spend the day figuring out how to get BBC2 by the time a program based on the event airs in the spring. Explore the feminist literature ...

Jane Austen’s famous novel Pride and Prejudice was first published on January 28th, 1812, 200 years ago today. While Austen’s work isn’t exactly an experiment in radical intersectional rebellion, she was a proto-feminist thinker who created independently-minded ...
By Chloe Angyal • 11 years ago

Louise Erdrich becomes first American Indian woman to win National Book Award

Erdrich’s book, The Round House, is about violence against American Indian women, and about one young man who confronts that violence when it finds its way into his home.

According to CBS News,

A clearly delighted and surprised Erdrich, who’s part Ojibwe, spoke in her tribal tongue and then switched to English as she dedicated her fiction award to “the grace and endurance of native women.”

Only fifteen or so women have won the adult fiction prize since 1952, and Erdrich is the first American Indian woman to ever win it. “This is a book about a huge case of injustice ongoing on reservations,” she said. “Thank you for giving it a wider audience.”

When the short list was ...

Erdrich’s book, The Round House, is about violence against American Indian women, and about one young man who confronts that violence when it finds its way into his home.

According to CBS News,

A clearly ...

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