Het boek dat Emma gaat lezen voor haar boekclub ‘Our Shared Shelf’ in juli en augustus is bekend. Dit zal het boek ‘ Milk and Honey.’ een gedichtenbundel van schrijfster Rupi Kaur zijn, deze is niet vertaald naar het nederland maar wel te koop bij bol.com.

Dear OSS Members,

I am excited to announce that July/August’s pick for Our Shared Shelf is our first poet, Rupi Kaur, and her book of poems Milk and Honey. Rupi Kaur is an Indian-born, Canadian-raised poet and artist. She chooses not to use upper case letters or punctuation in her poems as an ode to her native language, Punjabi. She travels the world, including recently to her native country India, performing her poems and drawing crowds of hundreds. Both of her books, Milk and Honey and The Sun and Her Flowers, have made the New York Times bestseller list, which for a poet, is astonishing.

Over my lifetime, I have fallen in and out of love with poetry. Performing poems was what got me into acting (I had a primary school teacher that made everyone learn one a week, and eventually I won a poetry recital competition!) In secondary school and at university, I loved deciphering the codes of poems in class discussion, but I honestly wondered if poetry would continue to feature in my life outside of an academic context.

Enter poets like Hollie McNish, Sabrina Mahfouz and Rupi Kaur- I demolished whole books in single sittings. Unlike poems I have often spent weeks unraveling, Rupi’s poems are not designed to obscure meaning or entertain too much ambiguity – they hit you like punches to the stomach. They are immediate, visceral and not easily digested. I am loathe to say Rupi has made poetry “accessible” because while this is the truth (Rupi’s poems and illustrations fit well into those famously square shaped Instagram frames), there is nothing easy or accessible about what Rupi chooses to talk about. In fact, the topics she chooses, are audacious.

Here is a 25-year-old girl saying the unsayable… to hundreds of thousands of people:
that she has been raped, that at times she has been abused, that she bleeds. And sin of all sins… she actually likes the hair that grows on her body. Yes. She actually thinks it is beautiful. And that she is beautiful as God made her – what a transgression. That her body is her home and nobody else’s.

The last chapter of Rupi’s book is called ‘The healing’. I am astounded to think what grew in the garden of her heartbreak. Her sharing, leadership and representation is so generous and brave. I will be forever grateful that she took subjects, that as a woman, I still carry shame about, and made them art. It took me an extra step forward and gave me new language.

All my love,
Emma

De boeken die Emma gaat lezen voor haar boekclub ‘Our Shared Shelf’ in mei en juni zijn bekend, want dit keer zijn het er twee! Dit zal het boek ‘ The Hate U Give’ van schrijfster TAngie Thomas zijn, vertaald naar het Nederland en o.a. te koop bij bol.com. En
‘Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women’ door Kate Moore, deze is niet vertaald maar wel te koop bij bol.com.

Dear OSS Members:

This was such a fun poll to watch, full of twists and turns, like a good mystery novel. And you submitted some incredible book recommendations! In fact, we had such positive feedback and wonderful suggestions that we’re going to make the OSS Readers’ Choice a regular feature.

With two amazing books at the top that were so close in votes, we decided to declare double winners for May/June.

So, we are extremely excited to announce the first place winner: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas’ extraordinary debut novel, originally written for the YA market, carries a critically important and urgent message about how gun violence, racism and police brutality disproportionately affect communities of color. This ground-breaking book transcends any age bracket and we think it should be required reading for, well, everyone. With intelligence, heart and unflinching honesty, author Angie Thomas makes us laugh, cry and cheer, while 16 year-old Starr finds her voice and a way to fight the system. We’ve had our eye on this award-winner and were saving it for a future pick, but are thrilled that you beat us to it. As an added plus, for our global OSS family, the publisher tells us the book has been translated into over 20 languages.

Coming in a very close second, we are equally inspired to see that you selected: Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

When Kate Moore found out that her book was in the running for OSS’s May/June selection, she gave us a shout out on Twitter. Don’t know if this boosted the vote, but we do know that this is a brilliant nonfiction book, so compellingly told, that it reads like fiction and deserves wide-spread attention. Sadly, the tragic stories here are true and as a recent news article stated “The Radium Girls – Still Glowing in Their Coffins.” Because of the way Kate Moore brings the science, personal stories and facts to light, we know what these unsuspecting women (as young as 16) endured. Their brave efforts fighting the US Radium Corporation to bring justice created milestones for modern occupational hazard law and reveal what we know today about radium’s effect on the human body.

So, please let us know what you’re planning to read. And we want you to know that we are continually astounded with the quality and depth of thought-provoking dialogue that you contribute to Our Shared Shelf. It makes us feel very proud to be part of building this wise and welcoming intersectional feminist community. Needless to say, we are really looking forward to the discussions around your May/June winners.

Love,

Team Our Shared Shelf x

Het boek dat Emma gaat lezen voor haar boekclub ‘Our Shared Shelf’ in jmaart en april is bekend. Dit zal het boek ‘Heart Beries’ van schrijfster Terese Marie Mailhot zijn. Dit boek is niet vertaald naar het Nederlands maar wel te koop bij bol.com.

Dear OSS,

One of the most memorable moments of the year for me, so far, was the honor of walking beside activist and friend, Marai Larasi at the Golden Globes. Along with learning that movements are both rewarding and really hard work, my involvement with #TimesUp in the UK and in the States is showing me how much we can do together when we stand in solidarity and how incredibly important it is for those who have privilege to use whatever they can to amplify the voices of those who are less often listened to. These are a few of the many reasons why I have chosen Terese Marie Mailhot’s Heart Berries for this month’s book.

Having always felt deeply impatient and limited by having to express myself in perfect grammar and punctuation (this was pre-apostrophe gate!), I am quietly reveling in the profundity of Mailhot’s deliberate transgression in Heart Berries and its perfect results. I love her suspicion of words. I have always been terrified and in awe of the power of words – but Mailhot does not let them silence her in Heart Berries. She finds the purest way to say what she needs to say. She refines… How beautiful are these sentences?

“I learned to make a honey reduction of the ugly sentences. Still my voice cracks.”

“When you told me, I want too much I considered how much you take.”

“I feel like my body is being drawn through a syringe.”

“I felt breathless, like every question was a step up a stairway.”

“Nothing is too ugly for this world I think it’s just that people pretend not to see.”

“I woke up as the bones of my ancestors locked in government storage.”

I won’t go on because I don’t want to ruin this book for you, but the writing is so good it’s hard not to temporarily be distracted from the content or narrative by its brilliance.

In her first paragraph, Mailhot writes, “The words were too wrong and ugly to speak. I tried to tell someone my story, but he thought it was a hustle.” Space is needed for pain; people need to be believed and to be able to tell their stories. Roxane Gay says it so perfectly when she describes the book as an “open wound, a need, naked and unapologetic.” Perhaps, because this author so generously allows us to be her witness, we are somehow able to see ourselves more clearly and become better witnesses to ourselves. This has certainly been my experience.

It feels right and vastly overdue to be reading a story from a First Nation woman with her perspective of a colonial world. I loved her keen observations of white people (like me) and their ways. It’s critical to be reminded that there are ways of thinking and seeing things that endure and have existed long before colonizers. There are a million ways to think about things! It’s good to have this named.

I read this book in one sitting, but I know I will come back to lines in it to refer to again and again and again. I felt transformed by having read Mailhot’s book as if she channeled some of her brilliance to me through osmosis. As though magically just through having read her writing, I myself became more intelligent and a better writer without having to do ANYTHING!! That’s how good she is! Her work is inspiring, in the way the best things are – you instantly want to go and DO and create yourself as a result of having come into contact with it.

With all my love,
Emma and Team Our Shared Shelf

Het boek dat Emma gaat lezen voor haar boekclub ‘Our Shared Shelf’ in januari en februari is bekend. Dit zal het boek ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ van schrijfster Reni Eddo-Lodge zijn. Dit boek is niet vertaald naar het Nederlands maar wel te koop bij bol.com.

Dear OSS,

There is so much racism, both in our past and present, that is not acknowledged and accounted for. I know this to be the case from my own education, and I know there is so much more for me to learn. This is why I’m excited to announce that our first book of 2018 is Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge which talks about the history of racism in Britain, and ways we can see, acknowledge and challenge racism. I am not supposed to have favourites, however this was the most important book for me this year.

When I gave my UN speech in 2015, so much of what I said was about the idea that “being a feminist is simple!” Easy! No problem! I have since learned that being a feminist is more than a single choice or decision. It’s an interrogation of self. Every time I think I’ve peeled all the layers, there’s another layer to peel. But, I also understand that the most difficult journeys are often the most worthwhile. And that this process cannot be done at anyone else’s pace or speed.

When I heard myself being called a “white feminist” I didn’t understand (I suppose I proved their case in point). What was the need to define me — or anyone else for that matter — as a feminist by race? What did this mean? Was I being called racist? Was the feminist movement more fractured than I had understood? I began…panicking.

It would have been more useful to spend the time asking myself questions like: What are the ways I have benefited from being white? In what ways do I support and uphold a system that is structurally racist? How do my race, class and gender affect my perspective? There seemed to be many types of feminists and feminism. But instead of seeing these differences as divisive, I could have asked whether defining them was actually empowering and bringing about better understanding. But I didn’t know to ask these questions.

I met a woman this year named Happy who works for an organization called Mama Cash and she told me this about her long history working in the women’s sector: “Call me out. But if you’re going to call me out, walk alongside me as I do the work”. Working alongside women like Happy is a privilege. As human beings, as friends, as family members, as partners, we all have blind spots; we need people that love us to call us out and then walk with us while we do the work.

This has been an amazing two years for me, working on Our Shared Shelf. There were moments when I wondered whether the club should be an ongoing thing. Thank you for making me sure that it would be crazy not to keep going in 2018.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed, laid themselves bare, been patient and compassionate or shared useful information with other members of the community. Thanks to those who hid books and posted their photos to Instagram, or started a talking circle or smaller club and met up in different parts of the world.

Everyone has their own journey, and it may not always be easy, but what I can promise is that you’ll meet some extremely cool people that you will REALLY love and respect along the way that will walk this path with you. You’re not alone. And even if you are, in a particular moment…remember you come from a long line of feminists who did this work, in the outside world but also inside themselves. As we move into 2018, I hope Reni Eddo-Lodge’s book empowers and inspires you as much as it has me. I am looking forward to discussing it in more detail with you soon.

Love,
Emma xx

Het boek dat Emma gaat lezen voor haar boekclub ‘Our Shared Shelf’ in maart/april is bekend. Dit zal het boek ‘The Power’ van schrijfster Naomi Alderman zijn. Dit boek is vertaald naar het Nederlands als ‘De Macht’ maar moet nog uitkomen. In januari verschijnt het boek bij bol.com.

DOur next book will be a speculative fiction novel called The Power by Naomi Alderman, winner of the 2017 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. The book asks a question we might have all asked at one time: what would the world be like if women were in charge?

In the book, teenage girls all over the world begin to develop the ability to do harm by transmitting electricity through their fingertips. News spreads quickly over social media and soon the girls are teaching older women how to harness their dormant powers. In a few short years, gender roles are reversed and the world is run by women. As governments are toppled, a new woman’s republic is born, and there’s a single new religion led by a cult leader called Mother Eve.

The book follows four main characters: Tunde, a male journalist who is following the emerging stories, and three women with new found powers, Roxy, Allie and Margot. Their paths cross as the world is heading into political and religious turmoil.

Alderman challenges the cliché that women are more noble than men, and that a world run by women would be more gentle, with benevolent leaders and no war. In fact, women become power hungry and begin to repress men. They commit war atrocities, perform male genital mutilation, rape and maim for sport and kill to occupy land.

With power dynamics reversed, the women don’t choose a righteous path – they act no better than men who have abused power throughout history. I think Alderman’s point is that people who abuse, do so because they can.

Alderman presents the main part of the book as an early manuscript of an historical novel, written thousands of years in a future where women still rule, by a male novelist ‘Neil Armon’. Through letter exchanges between Neil and his mentor, a female writer called ‘Naomi’, we see a world where men’s worth is only in their looks and ‘men’s literature’ isn’t taken as seriously as women’s. This is a really clever literary device which highlights how absurd rigid gender roles are.

Neil thinks he can prove that women weren’t always the ones in positions of power, but Naomi can’t see how the history books would lie. Neil’s reality is one where men’s contributions to history have been misattributed, or even stolen, by women.

This made me think about the fact that history was written by those who held the power. It also made me think about how the distribution of power and gender roles throughout history often seems arbitrary, and how they could have perhaps ended up very differently.

I’m excited to hear what you all make of the novel.

Love,
Emma and the Our Shared Shelf team

Het boek dat Emma gaat lezen voor haar boekclub ‘Our Shared Shelf’ in september/oktober is bekend. Dit zal het boek ‘Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body ‘ van schrijfster Roxane Gay zijn. Dit boek is wel vertaald naar het Nederlands als ‘Honger: De geschiedenis van mijn lichaam’ en is te koop bij bol.com.

Dear Our Shared Shelf,

Roxane Gay describes her book ‘Hunger’ as a “memoir about my body”. It traverses many of the issues surrounding our human bodies, the sexual experiences we have, our relationship with food, how we feel about our own bodies and the difference gender has to play on a body… When exploring how society treats people of her size, Gay asks: “What does it say about our culture that the desire for weight loss is considered a default feature of womanhood?”

What struck me the most about the book is Roxane’s searing honesty. We know that there are many people of all genders who do not feel they can talk about their experiences – who live their lives carrying the huge burden of abuse and trauma. As the author suggests, many people do not realise the suffering that follows an act like the one Roxane experienced, and how it can completely alter the way the victim identifies with themselves and others.

While parts of the book are difficult to read, it highlights the very real damage done by sexual violence and puts you in the mind and body of someone that has to move through the world in a different way. A small insight or perspective I feel grateful for now having and understanding a little bit better.

I am also re-reading essays from Gay’s ‘Bad Feminist’. We put such high expectations on ourselves as feminists, on other feminists, and the movement as a whole. It feels like such a relief to take ownership of words like “nasty woman” and “bad feminist”. They don’t have so much power this way and maybe they remind us not to hold ourselves and others to unreasonably high standards – we are all human after all and at different moments of our learning journeys. We need to feel free to be on those journeys and make mistakes. I hope if you get time you’ll enjoy what she has to say about this too.

Love,
Emma