general_kenobi's review

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

lsparrow's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was on my reading list for a long time. Mostly because of the influence this book has had on so many writers, activists, artists and thinkers. Although some of the language is a bit dated the concepts and ideas and discussion is still relevant.

ralowe's review against another edition

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5.0

if you're like me you don't actually have to worry about anything at all because there's a good chance that any cause of worry going on in current life has already been figured out and written about a generation or so ago but forgotten.

eudijo's review against another edition

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5.0

wow. i mean, WOW, this was good. these women are truly radical. i resonated with so much of their words, though our backgrounds are different in many ways. i so appreciated the gentle and not so gentle invitations to wrestle with my biases and determine what brands of feminism fit me and which didn't. the writers acknowledged that the work of social justice is messy and we rarely agree with each other all the time, but we keep trying. so honest and vulnerable...all of it.

personal favorites:
"i walk in the history of my people" - chrystos
"i don't understand those who have turned away from me" - chrystos
"an open letter to mary daly" - audre lorde

sallyjofrench's review

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challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.5

arthurian's review against another edition

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5.0

no, i did not agree with every single writing in this collection. yes, i loved every single one.

there were some writings that resonated with me and my understanding of feminism as a non-american third world woman on some very deep level, and some i found myself simply disagreeing. but every single one of these were sincere outpourings of emotion, anger and a desire to move ahead made by different black women and other women of color. the idea of creating a space, a platform where every voice that didn't belong to the mainstream (white) neoliberal feminist movement could be heard, all the richer for their differences and disagreements is genius and liberating even 40 years after its publication.

grem_ler's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

ameeth's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

This collection took me a month to read (on and off) because every poem, essay, and entry deserved proper absorption. Of the undersung voices, does this anthology contain every possible range of perspectives? No. Does it have to? This edition skillfully addresses its original publication context, acknowledging how different the work would be if redone today. But I am so grateful to see it reshared as the ground-breaker it was, with many calls to action for more people, more stories, more inclusion, and more bridges ("stretch or die"). Before reading, my understanding of This Bridge Called My Back was as a foundational assembly, without which the women's movement would not be where it is today. After reading, that statement holds truer than I could have ever imagined.

There is something uniquely special with this reprint: to observe and analyze how influential the text has been over 40 years, and simultaneously fathom the bravery and risk involved in its origin-- so much has changed for nothing to change. 

Some stand-outs for me: "Wonder Woman" (Genny Lin), Cherríe Moraga, "Invisibility is an Unnatural Disaster" (Mitsuye Yamada), Chrystos, entire section three, Kate Rushin, "Letter to Ma" (Merle Woo), "Speaking in Tongues" (Gloria Anzaldúa), Norma Alarcón, "Revolution" (Pat Parker), "Lesbianism" (Cheryl Clarke). 

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cafi's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

dlauabby's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.0