These stories were all written in the 1960s and 1970s, and it helped to remind myself of that context while I read, because they really do capture a very specific moment in time in American feminism, but not only feminism, civil rights in general. The stories are bluntly titled - examples like "The Lover," "The Abortion," and "Porn" give the reader an exact idea what the story will contain! Others are more clever, like "A Letter of the Times, or Should This Sado-Masochism Be Saved?" and "How Did I Get Away with Killing One of the Biggest Lawyers in the State? It Was Easy."
The story that I connected with the most was "A Sudden Trip Home in the Spring," about a woman who is the only African American at Wellesley returning home after the death of her father. She tries to explain how she feels by bringing up Richard Wright, which of course nobody else has ever read.
"'...From what you've said, Wright earned the freedom to be whoever he wanted to be. To a strong man a father is not essential.'
'Maybe not, said Sarah,'but Wright's father was one faulty door in a house of many ancient rooms. Was that one faulty door to shut him off forever from the rest of the house?'...
'...You're thinking of his father more as a symbol of something, aren't you?' asked Pam.
'I suppose,' said Sarah, taking a last look around her room. 'I see him as a door that refused to open, a hand that was always closed. A fist.'"
And then later to her brother:
"You are the door to all the rooms... Don't ever close."
Even though I'm over thirty, I thought I might still enjoy reading this, the first group read of the Feminist Orchestra Book Club. It is a compilationEven though I'm over thirty, I thought I might still enjoy reading this, the first group read of the Feminist Orchestra Book Club. It is a compilation of a bunch of short essays, more like testimonials, from women under thirty. I think a lot of young women would find themselves in these pages, and may find gentle introductions to issues such as intersectionality. Interspersed between the essays are quotes from women over thirty - writers, artists, revolutionaries - and I have to be honest, most of the time I got more out of these bits than some of the essays.
"I wish more girls and women could learn that the most revolutionary act they can make is to be their brilliant selves." -June Eric-Udorie, age 16
"I call myself a feminist with my elbows."-Amy Annette (do not apologize for taking up space! nobody else does....)...more
Jenny (Reading Envy)
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Books:
feminist-orchestra
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