Five works of feminist literature that you need to read…now!
While we have the classic first wave texts of the Lourdes, Greers and Friedans of this world there are a plethora of powerful women creating new must read feminist gems packing a one, two punch of powerful insights for us to glean. Feminism is at a pregnant window right now and these new and epic texts will hopefully get us one step closer to that sweeping moment when equality is a thorough norm throughout every strata of life
Dear Ijeawele
Or A Feminist Manifesto In Fifteen Suggestions
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The genius goddess Chimamanda that walks this earth amongst us mere mortals sets out a feminist manifesto in the form of a letter to a friend. 15 pieces of salient advice that will act as a wonderful guide to staying a strong and empowered female. If you have Chimamanda’s We Should All Be Feminists you need this and if you don’t go out and buy both, ASAP! This book is a brilliant tool for navigating society today as a strong woman – definitely a must for your daughters or any young women in your life
Out March 7th
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0008241031/ref=ox_sc_act_title_13?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Difficult Women
Roxanne Gay
Comprising of a collection of short stories that run the gauntlet from privilege to poverty, love to detached co-habitation and beyond there is something for every staunch and budding feminist out there. You won’t want to put it down and the cautious tales will haunt you in the most devastatingly delicious manner.
Out Now
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Difficult-Women-Roxane-Gay/dp/1472152778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488758809&sr=8-1&keywords=difficult+women
There Are More Things Beautiful Than Beyoncé
Morgan Parker
There’s no doubt that this offering will split the pack. On one hand many may believe it to be a call to arms for black women screaming that you needn’t stray from your kinky curly roots to be fated as a force to be reckoned with, while others may deem it by title if not by content, a veiled dragging down of a Ms Carter done good. Whichever camp you fall into you will be riveted by the poetry collection that lays bare the racial rivets that still run deep in America.
Out Now
https://www.amazon.com/There-More-Beautiful-Things-Beyonce/dp/1941040535/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488758696&sr=1-1&keywords=there+are+more+beautiful+things+than+beyonce
We Are Never Meeting In Real Life
Samantha Kirby
With her heavy laughter sprinkled with light feminist leaning style, “bitches gotta eat” blogger and comedienne Kirby is an irreverent delight. Whether talking about how her difficult childhood has led to a problem in making “adult” budgets, explaining why she should be the new Bachelorette—she’s “35-ish, but could easily pass for 60-something”—detailing a disastrous pilgrimage-slash-romantic-vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father’s ashes, sharing awkward sexual encounters, she’s as deft at poking fun at the ghosts of her past self as she is at capturing powerful emotional truths.
Out May 30th https://www.amazon.com/Are-Never-Meeting-Real-Life/dp/1101912197
Sour Heart
Jenny Zhang
Perhaps leaning slightly towards the YA catergory, poet and female flâneur Zhang’s essays and fictional tales of woe, sorrow and sweetness from the perspective of immigrant teenage girls growing up in New York is an exciting forthcoming volume of work. Her knack for telling it like with delicate authority has pegged her as one of the most exciting new female writers of this generation.
Out August 1st
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sour-Heart-Stories-Jenny-Zhang-ebook/dp/B01N05S626/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488759079&sr=1-1&keywords=sour+heart