I think this might be the book that blows my mind a thousand times this summer. Last summer it was Birth as an American Rite of Passage. So this would be kind of appropriate. I got the recommendation from Molly at First the Egg.
This selection is not actually very related to all that, but it struck me, so here it is.
"Oppression is not the mother of virtue; oppression can warp, undermine, turn us into haters of ourselves. But it can also turn us into realists, who neither hate ourselves nor assume we are merely innocent and unaccountable victims."
- Adrienne Rich, from the 1986 introduction to Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution
I also wanted to say that I'm over the moon in love with your writing and your blog. I love, love, love finding people with a similar mix of interests and you bring some great thoughts to the table. That's one of the reasons I was so happy you commented on the Adrienne Rich quote, it lead me to your blog.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read that quote I also got hung up on learning about Adrienne Rich for a while and ended up reading some of her poetry and watching some videos of her reading from her own work. She gets to me, like that quote. I might have to get my hands on that book too so I can share the mind-blowing. I'm going to attempt to track it down now!
Got the book! Thanks, library. Will post some responses on my blog, its like an impromptu book club.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for that heart-warming compliment! Day = made. When I started the blog, I knew I wasn't going to be able to post very frequently or regularly, but I have tried to convince myself that it's worth it anyway. So thank you for reading and especially for commenting! :D
ReplyDeleteIt was surreal seeing that quotation from the introduction (from y'all's blog) because I wasn't actually looking for it. What are the chances, right? I don't know if you read First the Egg but Molly actually DOES have a reading group that did this book. I wasn't able to participate because my "leisure" reading mostly happens between semesters (which I am, sadly, not right now). It's here: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/35662.Feminist_Reading_Group_on_Pregnancy_Birth_and_Parenting and if you scroll down you will see where they did Of Woman Born a few months ago, I think.
Anyway, glad you were able to find a copy so quickly. Let's keep chatting! PS. Are you on twitter?
I'll check out the reading group, thanks for the tip. Think I'll wait till I get some way in though, just to keep my own responses authentic. I was going through the introduction today and found myself thinking "crap, she wrote this more than 40 years ago but it could just have easily been written today." I also don't do much leisure reading, these days, though I imagined there would be more of that over the summer as I am between semesters (quarters, actually). But I forget that when I'm between quarters I'm also between a 3 year old and a 1 year old. And.. they're just not into the 70's feminist musings quite yet. I'm not on twitter, though I can see the appeal (more than some of the other social networks, where I also am not.) But I've got you in my feeds, so my digital eye is ever-watching. Hmm, creepy.
ReplyDeleteHappy writing!