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The Feminist Memoir Project: Voices from Women's Liberation
The women of The Feminist Memoir Project give voice to the spirit, the drive, and the claims of the Women's Liberation Movement they helped shape, beginning in the late 1960s. These thirty-two writers were among the thousands to jump-start feminism in the late twentieth century. Here, in pieces that are passionate, personal, critical, and witty, they describe what it felt like to make history, to live through and contribute to the massive social movement that transformed the nation.
What made these particular women rebel? And what experiences, ideas, feelings, and beliefs shaped their activism? How did they maintain the will and energy to keep such a struggle going for so long, and continuing still?
Memoirs and responses by Kate Millett, Vivian Gornick, Michele Wallace, Alix Kates Shulman, Joan Nestle, Jo Freeman, Yvonne Rainer, Barbara Smith, Ellen Willis, Eve Ensler, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Roxanne Dunbar, Naomi Weisstein, Alice Wolfson and many more embody the excitement that fueled the movement and the conflicts that threatened it from within. Their stories trace the ways the world has changed.
What made these particular women rebel? And what experiences, ideas, feelings, and beliefs shaped their activism? How did they maintain the will and energy to keep such a struggle going for so long, and continuing still?
Memoirs and responses by Kate Millett, Vivian Gornick, Michele Wallace, Alix Kates Shulman, Joan Nestle, Jo Freeman, Yvonne Rainer, Barbara Smith, Ellen Willis, Eve Ensler, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Roxanne Dunbar, Naomi Weisstein, Alice Wolfson and many more embody the excitement that fueled the movement and the conflicts that threatened it from within. Their stories trace the ways the world has changed.
560 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 11, 2022
I read this for a research paper but I ended up re-reading it after the project was done. I really liked the book and it was very informative, just what I expected to find.
July 2, 2014
My early reaction to reading this was: "Reading this is difficult. Remembering how it was it be a female person in the 60s, how much there was to overcome, thinking of how long we have struggled, realising how much remains the same even while seeing how much has changed."
Now that I've finished, that feeling remains, but is joined by many other thoughts and feelings. Of course, because this is a collection of memories and observations about the Women's Movement in the US, much of what is recollected here is, to me, about second-hand memories. I remember reading and talking about the events these women remember being a part of, but the movement in Canada evolved differently, despite the infusion of ideas and inspiration from what was happening to the south of us. The starting points were similar, but the paths diverged and there are significant differences in what was achieved. I long to see a similar book produced that collects the experiences and thoughts of the early participants in the Canadian movement.
Nonetheless, reading this book brings back all the moments of realisation, all the nights of consciousness-raising and analysis, all the hours of reading, all the work of building a functional women's centre, of spreading ideas, of talking, talking, talking to other women, all the joy of growing liberation.
What also emerges from all these accounts, and from the various response papers solicited by the editors and published at the conclusion of the book, are the themes that recurred in the lives of these pioneering women, both positive and negative.
It's an important book, to help us remember where we've comes from, and also to see where we still need to go.
Now that I've finished, that feeling remains, but is joined by many other thoughts and feelings. Of course, because this is a collection of memories and observations about the Women's Movement in the US, much of what is recollected here is, to me, about second-hand memories. I remember reading and talking about the events these women remember being a part of, but the movement in Canada evolved differently, despite the infusion of ideas and inspiration from what was happening to the south of us. The starting points were similar, but the paths diverged and there are significant differences in what was achieved. I long to see a similar book produced that collects the experiences and thoughts of the early participants in the Canadian movement.
Nonetheless, reading this book brings back all the moments of realisation, all the nights of consciousness-raising and analysis, all the hours of reading, all the work of building a functional women's centre, of spreading ideas, of talking, talking, talking to other women, all the joy of growing liberation.
What also emerges from all these accounts, and from the various response papers solicited by the editors and published at the conclusion of the book, are the themes that recurred in the lives of these pioneering women, both positive and negative.
It's an important book, to help us remember where we've comes from, and also to see where we still need to go.
December 7, 2007
A Great collection of 2nd wave work
January 26, 2023
An excellent assortment of essays on feminism from women who fought for women's rights in the 60s, and 70s. Strategic plans were enacted, awareness was raised, and gains were made. I was pleased to read many of these essays from a first hand memoir view, even a few by writers I know: Priscilla Long and Joan Nestle.
This historical treasure trove was edited by Ann Snitow and Rachel Blau DuPlessis. I read two of Rachel's books, Blue Studios: Poetry and its Cultural Work, and The Pink Guitar: Writing as a Feminist Practice in 2006 when they first came out.
This historical treasure trove was edited by Ann Snitow and Rachel Blau DuPlessis. I read two of Rachel's books, Blue Studios: Poetry and its Cultural Work, and The Pink Guitar: Writing as a Feminist Practice in 2006 when they first came out.
March 30, 2022
read for research project, pretty interesting
January 3, 2010
I've flipped through this before but am rereading now. Pretty fascinating stuff.
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January 15, 2010essays
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews