What it is: Poems by women of different races and ages, arranged to document the female experience from youth ’til old age.
What it ain’t: Despite the title, this isn’t pro-femi-nazi, man-hating stuff. (Sad to say, some of you still think the word “feminist” means that girls think they’re better than guys, and therefore hate their collective patriarchal guts. NO! It’s all about everyone getting equal pay for equal work–we should ALL be feminists, male or female!) It’s about being a girl and then a woman and all the stuff that is great about it, and, just to make it interesting, all the stuff that stinks about it.
Who will like it: Rrriot grrls who rock out to Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco and Liz Phair, and the boys who love them.
A Sample: Peck’s Bad Boys/Teacher called me a hussy/I told her I just wanted to be one of the guys/Their games more daring, longer-lasting/like an all-day sucker./Not fighting exactly/no back-biting, hair-pulling,/just out-front shin-kicking, punching/wrestling in the dirt/Rolling, maybe laughing/I told her I just liked the contact/all that hard muscle,/all those smells, dust, sweat, warm flesh./ Judi Benson