The World Beyond BetterMost > Women Today
Strong, gorgeous women!
Lumière:
--- Quote from: Lumière on December 22, 2008, 06:00:24 pm ---A few Canadian writers to look out for:
--- End quote ---
Ivan E. Coyote
She was born in the Yukon, Canada.
Ivan E. Coyote is acclaimed as one of North America's most beguiling storytellers;
Ivan's honest, down-to-earth tales, many of which are based on personal experience,
are compelling for their simple human truths. Her 2005 story collection, Loose End,
was shortlisted for the prestigious Ferro-Grumley Award for Women's Fiction. [arsenalpulp.com]
Coyote self-defines as “a primarily estrogen-based organism” but dresses male; ...
Her short stories, largely autobiographical pieces, are all about connection — or, sometimes, missed connections.
They’re about fitting in, or not. They’re about being mistaken for a man by little old ladies in gas-station restrooms,
and about being mistaken for a girl by one’s own family. ...
The wonder of Coyote’s stories, though, is that even the straightest reader will be touched by their generous heart,
and by the seeming immediacy of their kitchen-table clarity. [straight.com]
I own every book by this author - and especially love her very refreshing collection of short stories.
Books by Ivan E. include: Bow Grip (novel), One man's trash, Close to Spider Man, Loose End, The Slow Fix (all short story collections).
I read Close to Spider Man from start to finish in one sitting. Couldn't put it down. :)
Front-Ranger:
These women are really wonderful! Thank you!! All day I have been listening to the music of Michelle Shocked and loving it!!
Lumière:
For some time now, I've wanted to build a collection of African Women herstories. I'm working on it.
I'll begin this series with a poem I wrote a while ago - inspired by one African woman in particular, whose life touched me immensely.
Her name was FannyAnn V. Eddy.
Over African Sky
sister calling out
pushing her way up
to the big white clouds thrown free
like a soft blanket over African sky;
singing, chanting
till her lungs burn wild with joy;
just like in days past
when she kicked, marched proud
on hot eggshells
in a Freetown laced with fear
sister calling out
queer as can be, be not alone;
sister speaking up the truths,
all the while hearing
the crackle of brittle shells
beneath her sturdy feet;
sister pressing on,
hoping to taste another
sunset and sunrise anew..
sister calling out,
alone in the shadow of hatred so thick
one by one, they raped her
they stabbed her
they broke her neck
they sliced off her tongue
they gouged out her eyes..
that she may not see
that she may not speak
that she may not live
sister calling out,
soaring high and swift
like a shooting star...
guess what,
she speaks with a thousand tongues,
she sees through a million eyes,
she thrives in a thousand hearts..
for we have witnessed the stains
of fresh blood on broken eggshells
sister calling out
she saw
she spoke
she lived
she died
she sings -
'they can not slaughter us all'
~*~*~*~
Fannyann Viola Eddy (1974–2004)
She was an activist for lesbian and gay rights in her native Sierra Leone and throughout Africa.
In 2002, she founded the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association, the first of its kind in Sierra Leone.
She traveled widely, addressing the United Nations and other international groups.
In April 2004, she advocated the passing of the Brazil Resolution at the UN in Geneva.
"We live in fear within our communities," Eddy testified before the U.N.,
"where we face constant harassment and violence from neighbors and others.
Their homophobic attacks go unpunished by authorities, further encouraging their discriminatory
and violent treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people."
Eddy was murdered on September 28, 2004, shortly after giving a speech about the threats of violence
faced by lesbians and gays in Sierra Leone. Eddy left behind a son and her partner Esther Chikalipa. [wikip.]
Lumière:
Helen Suzman (1917 – January 2009)
She was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician.
She was also was one of the few white lawmakers to fight against the injustices of racist rule.
Suzman fought a long and lonely battle in the South African parliament against government repression
of the country's black majority. She first visited Nelson Mandela,
leader of the then-banned African National Congress, in prison in 1967 at the start of a long friendship.
For 13 years, Helen Suzman was the sole opposition lawmaker in South Africa's parliament,
raising her voice time after time against the introduction of racist legislation by the National Party government.
Born in the mining town of Germiston east of Johannesburg to parents who had fled anti-Semitism in Russia,
Suzman's childhood was the charmed one of most whites — tennis, swimming lessons and private schooling.
It was only when she got to university and studied the laws that were being put in place to govern black people
that she says she was "roused to the discrimination."
From then on she began to speak out against the conditions under which black people were forced to live,
their lack of job opportunities and especially the dreaded pass system that restricted their movement.
Her greatest achievement was helping to ensure that the pass laws were abolished. [msnbc.com]
Lumière:
African Herstory can not be complete without her....
Miriam Makeba (1932 - 2008)
She was a South African civil rights activist and Grammy Award winning artist often referred to as Mama Afrika.
She was a Legendary voice of the African continent and symbol of the fight against apartheid.
Miriam Makeba is chief among those who have proclaimed the experiences of black South Africans.
In the 1960's, her outspoken opposition to the repressive political climate in South Africa
set the stage for harsh government retaliation. Makeba's call for an end to apartheid became increasingly powerful,
and her recordings were subsequently banned in South Africa. More than three decades of exile began for the singer in 1960,
when her passport was invalidated by the South African government.
Throughout a career spanning more than three decades, she established herself as a powerful voice in the fight against apartheid.
Makeba is credited with bringing the rhythmic and spiritual sounds of Africa to the West.
Her music is a soulful mix of jazz, blues, and traditional African folk songs shaded with potent political overtones.
Using music as a primary forum for her social concerns, she is a lasting symbol in the fight for racial equality
and has come to represent the pain of all South Africans living in exile. [musicianguide.com]
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version