Irishgoddess’s Weblog

Are you at all nostalgic?  I have a half dozen or so books laying around that I can’t force myself to get rid of, but I really don’t need them or want them.  I open the cover of ”One Foot on the Mountain, an Anthologyof British Feminst Poetry 1969-1979″  look at the title page and see “Erin and Maggie” written in them.  Awww, we were a couple!  We owned something together!  Or, I look at the table of contents of “Philosophy and Women, edited by Sharon Bishop and Marjorie Weinzweig, 1979″ and see where I’ve highlighed the authors Marilyn Frye and Shulamith Firestone.  I still remember the paper I wrote in that class – that was a great semester.

There are also some truly historical (ok, say it with me, herstorical) books:  a $3.00 copy of “a lesbian anthology:  Amazon Expedition”, published in 1973 by Times Change Press.  Ti-Grace Atkinson has a piece called “Lesbianism and Feminism.”  I remember sitting in the study room at the UWEC library with Sabrina, quoting this.  I thought the name “Ti-Grace” just screamed Amazon.  I think in my head she looked like Grace Jones. 

I also have Jean Lipman-Blumen’s “Gender Roles and Power“, full of highlights and remarks like ‘What is this bullshit?!” and “fuckers!”  I have circled and arrowed and highlighted the sentence “These circumstances led radical feminists to argue that the sex act itself is inevitably a demonstration of the power struggle between the sexes.”  And another note in the margin:  “Heterosexuality keeps women (the symbol, which was somehow more powerful) apart.”

I have a beautiful copy of “Black Lesbians, an annotated bibliography”, compiled by JR Roberts”, with a foreward by Barbara Smith.  Published in 1981 by the Naiad Press, it says sweetly on the dedication page that “50% of the author’s royalties are being rechanneled to Black lesbian communities and projects.”

I have the $3.50 copy of “conditions: five, the black women’s issue” with poetry by Pat Parker and Judy Simmons, song lyrics by  Mary Watkins and Deidre McCalla, fiction by Audre Lorde and  the wondeful essay “Notes for Yet Another Paper on Black Feminism, or Will the Real Enemy Please Stand Up?” by Barbara Smith.

And last but not least is my tiny, dog-chewed, $3.50 book “Lesbianism and The Women’s Movement” published in 1975 by diana press, edited by Nancy Myron and Charlotte Bunch.  Charlotte Bunch!  I loved her.  This book is a gem for many reasons, not the least of which is the two essays, “Living With Other Women” and “The Shape of Things To Come” by a pre-talking cat and horse mystery writer Rita Mae Brown.  The first line from “The Shape of Things to Come”:  “If you love women then you are in revolt against male supremacy.”  And the last line:  “Forward, sisters, forward.”

I was thinking that I need to lighten my load, get rid of books and papers.  I was going to ask lawyerbitch and/or Professor J if they wanted to open their homes to my loved yet neglected books.  If you two are interested, let me know.  I also have a stash of other books from that era, but none quite so quoted or loved.   You know what they say about burning a bible?  That is how I feel about these books; they are sacred. 

1. She is very smart.
2. She is extremely successful.
3. She works harder than anyone I know.
4. She missed out on a lot of her kid’s childhoods.
5. She was a very obedient daughter.
6. She took care of her mother in her last years.
7. She hasn’t always been a faithful spouse.
8. She has supported the family no matter what.
9. She feels it is her duty to support her family, and doesn’t rely on anyone else to do so.
10. She was successful in her career.
11. She moved up the ladder quickly.
12. She can be condescending and/or gruff with others.
13. Some people at work think she’s not the nicest person.
14. She liked many different sports.
15. She travels a lot.
16. She thought it was her perogative, as the breadwinner, to come and go as she pleased – mainly go.
17. Normal work hours were 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
18. She has had many health issues, and yet takes extremely good care of her health.
19. Her funeral will be huge.
20. She is stubborn beyond belief, but at the same time an incredible politician with great negotiating skills.
21. She always had the capability of scaring the shit out of me.
22. She can make me cry with one simple statement.

April’s Fools…. this is my dad. I have been wondering all month what it would be like to read about his traits… would they read as very odd for a woman? What would we think of a woman like this? Another thought…15 out of the 22 could accurately describe me. Freaky.