Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/15/85; site tommif.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!decwrl!greipa!tommif!cat
From: cat@tommif.UUCP (Catherine Mikkelsen)
Newsgroups: net.books,net.singles,net.women
Subject: Re: reading material
Message-ID: <130@tommif.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 13-Aug-85 08:44:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: tommif.130
Posted: Tue Aug 13 08:44:10 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 19-Aug-85 06:36:33 EDT
References: <1774@reed.UUCP>
Lines: 63
Xref: linus net.books:2066 net.singles:7705 net.women:6471
Summary: this month's suggestions for H20 closet...

In article <1774@reed.UUCP>, thoma@reed.UUCP (Ann Muir Thomas) writes:
> *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
> Does anybody have suggestions for cheap, untrashy, feminist-
> oriented reading material for my forays into the "water closet"?
> I am getting tired of reading my housemates' gossip sheets and
> _Cosmopolitans_, especially the latter, as I am the antithesis
> of the "Cosmo girl".
> 
> Ann
> (decvax|uw-beaver|ihnp4|hplabs)!tektronix!reed!thoma


Cosmo -- glegk!  I actually bought a Cosmo mag (proper jargon??) 
last year and, no, it hadn't changed.  Unlike the poor National
Lampoon which now seems virtually unreadable (sigh).

But now for suggestions.  Here are some of my current favorites:

<NOTE:  The following writers, though no doubt feminist (WHERE are
my quotes???) are basically just good writers.  
They do NOT spout feminist propaganda.
I assumed when Ann requested suggestions for feminist-type literature
she merely meant GOOD literature, perhaps of the type pertaining to
or written by women. And perhaps Ann was referring to the type of writing
that is supportive of and does not condone or contain violence 
towards women.... it seems to be  ONE of the alternatives
to those *If you let him kick you, will he buy you a silk nightie?*
articles that one sees in Cosmo (:-).

Alice Adams is one of my current favorites. I suggest _Rich Rewards_ or
(I probably have this title wrong) _Some Girls_, although I like
almost everything that she's written.  Now that I look at the name, I
am almost certain that I have the title of _Some Girls_ wrong...
oh well.

Isak Dineson is also a wonderful writer.  She was a Danish woman, 
married to a baron, who ended up living alone in the middle of Africa
for years.  Isak (also known as the Baroness Blixen and Karen Blixen)
wrote fiction, although one of her best works is a collection of letters and
stories titled _Out of Africa_.  Isak describes unsettled Africa, the
natives, and her own rather, er, unusual lifestyle beautifully. 

A black female anthropologist who studied cultural aspects of Jamaican life,
Nora Zeale Hurston is another interesting writer.  _Tell My Horse_ is a 
study of Jamaican culture in three parts: the first part describes Jamaica
(am I spelling this right???  I will NOT look it up) from a traveller's
perspective, the second describes Ms. Hurston's experiences with Jamaican 
people, and the third describes the role of religion, social subjugation,
voodoism, etc. in Jamaican culture.  Very interesting, as Ms. Hurston
manages to juxtapose somewhat personal observations and experiences with
(no-doubt) anthropologically-based cultural observations -- without
becoming sappy.
 

And now for the disclaimer:

It is 4:30 am and I can't sleep.  I don't have my contact lenses
in either, so if I want to see what I've written, I have to kind of
lean on the keyboard.  Both of which lead up to:  If this is illegible
and unreadable, blame it elsewhere! 

Catherine Mikkelsen
decwrl!greipa!tommif!cat