events

Last night I informally celebrated the 90th birthday of one of my mentors and guides: Mariam Chamberlain, founding president of the National Council for Research on Women, major funder of women’s studies back when she was at the Ford Foundation, economist at Harvard from the days when women didn’t do such things. Mariam was surrounded by the young women who know and love her from our various stints working at the Council. (I worked there for two years straight outa college, and then returned for another round after I finished my PhD.) When conversation came round to the election, my favorite response came from friend and former colleague Gwendolyn Beetham, who simply said: “I’m for whoever is going to be McCain.” After amazing lemon cake from Buttercup, all rushed home to watch the returns.

To Mariam (who is on email daily): May your 90th year be filled with hope, love, continued faith in the vitality of a women’s movement in all its flavors, and a candidate who can beat McCain.

A belated Happy Passover to those who celebrated this weekend! I spent the first seder at my aunt and uncle’s (who I learned are readers of GWP!) and the second at a dear friend’s dear parents’ house. Among the attendees at the latter was an Iraqi refugee, peace activist, and school teacher who arrived in New York from Baghdad about 8 months ago. I’ll call her S.

My friend’s dad is a linguist (and also a blogger!), and we asked the 4 questions in 7 different languages. Marco read them in Spanish, and S. read them in Arabic. I felt very verklempt at the whole thing, and proud to be part of a tradition that requires us to invite people who aren’t Jewish to the seder, in the spirit of being “welcoming to the stranger in your midst”. May this season usher in a time of renewal, rejeuvenation, and true freedom for all who remain in chains, whether enslavement be internal, external, or both.

The Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Columbia University announces a fall conference:

“What is Feminist Politics Now? Local and Global, “19-20 September, 2008

The conference will explore:
– The changing meanings of feminism, and its goals (intellectual,social and political) in a global context: to examine whether these meanings can any longer be contained within the rubric of common social agendas.
– Emerging social movements within the United States and beyond, including those that foster the collective interests of women across national, class, religious, and racial borders; the common interests of women and men; and those that call for greater individual autonomy.
– Questions about how women within the post-industrial west can effectively relate to, and remain engaged with, issues that arise from diverse locations and affect differently situated women in different ways.

More info coming soon here.

Sadly I couldn’t be there. If anyone who was would like to blog about it here and tell us what it was like, send me an email at girlwpen@yahoo.com!

On June 8, the new Tribeca Barnes & Noble will become a teen literary hotspot as Girls Write Now – which, I kvell, is featured prominently in yesterday’s New York Times – takes it over. Celebrity host Amanda Diva (Def Poetry Jam, HipHopNation, MTV2, Floetry), will turn the downtown bookstore into a showcase for a collection of powerful new poems, stories and essays that reflect an electrifying community of girl writers spanning often hard-and-fast lines of race, age, economics and geography in NYC. For those not yet familiar with GWN, they (we! I’m on the Advisory Board) are New York City’s premier mentoring and creative writing organization for teen girls.

A just quick note on Amanda Diva: talk about crossover. This accomplished poet, journalist, singer, rapper, and radio & television personality is also a scholar, with a Master’s degree in African-American Studies. For more, check out DivaSpeakTV.blogspot.com and Youtube.com/ImAmandaDiva.

See you there!

June 8
4-6PM
Barnes and Noble
97 Warren Street, NYC

On April 25, 2008, Poetic People Power presents Activism: The American Way. This evening will premiere poems about democracy, the need for ongoing citizen engagement, and advocating for social change. Join in as eight political artists bring their new works to the stage in celebration of National Poetry Month. The show will take place in NYC at the Bowery Poetry Club (located at 308 Bowery) at 7 PM.

Poets include Tara Bracco, Erica R. DeLaRosa, Frantz Jerome, Sugar Johnson, Angela Kariotis, Chris Martin, Shetal Shah, and Jonathan Walton.

Tickets are $10 at the door. One night only: Friday, April 25, 2008, at 7 PM. Don’t miss it!

I’m still pinching myself. That’s JANE FONDA to the far right, Pat Mitchell to my left, and Avis Jones-Deweever next to Jane. Fonda. (Courtesy of the WMC – photo cred goes to the fabulous and talented Rebekah Spicuglia.)

Well, Rachel Kramer Bussel has done it again. A prolific erotica writer herself, Rachel gathers 26 other uninhibited women in her new collection from Seal titled Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women. Love that the book flap answers Freud’s infamously infuriating question, “What do women really want?” with the following: “They want it all.” Because “it all” is pretty much what you’ll find between these covers. And believe me, if you read it, you will only be left wanting one thing: More.

The collection is, as Rachel notes in her intro, “dirty and sweet, wrapped up in one.” Like Rachel herself–who also runs a cupcake blog (anyone catch her recent appearance on Martha Stewart? for reals). This recipe for good erotica starts, of course, by dutifully deconstructing “dirty.” Writes Rachel:

“All too often we denigrate the dirty girls–the ones who dare to publicly show their naughty sides–as incorrigible sluts rather than realizing just how exciting it is to tap into our lustiest selves. Once you crack the surface of those who are seeingly prim and proper–the demure suburban housewife, the suited up banker, the quet secretary, the curious bookworm, the shy computer nerd–you’ll very likely find that the simplicity of the word ‘dirty’ doesn’t go anywhere near far enough to describe the kinds that lurk within them.”

Ultimately, Dirty Girls is playful, yet hot. As couples therapist Esther Perel has noted elsewhere, democracy isn’t always the hottest thing when it comes to the bedroom, and the stories here are loath to follow any PC guidelines. Thank goodness. The result? A book filled with “erotic adrenaline.” Full of fantasy, yet real. Which, btw, reminds me of another recent nonfiction title, which I hear reads like a modern-day McKinnsey study, full of to-the-minute kinks. It’s called America Unzipped. I’d be eager to hear what Rachel has to say about it–in fact, I bet she’s blogged about it over at Lusty Lady. I’m off to check out the latest on her awesome (and inspiring!) blog.

For those who are local, Rachel is throwing a book party here in NYC on Thursday, where there will be BOOB cake from Moist and Tasty. At Sutra Lounge, 16 First Avenue off First Street, Thursday, April 10, 7-9, FREE, 21+. She’ll also be hitting Atlanta, where she’ll be talking, with others, at Sex 2.0. CONGRATS, Rachel, and thanks for giving us this book!

I’ve posted here before about my friend Rebecca Segall’s amazing venture Writopia Lab and just wanted to share a quick update for those of you in NYC. Her young (middle and high schooler) writers have been arduously developing short stories, memoirs, op-eds, scripts, and poetry over the past six months and will be sharing them in Bryant Park on Sunday, May 18th, from noon to 3:00pm! One of her writers will be guest posting here on GWP soon, and I can’t wait to share her voice with you all. And mongo congrats to Rebecca, who was just awarded Scholastic’s Golden Apple Teacher Award for “submitting the most outstanding group of submissions on the national level” in the Scholastic Art & Writing event. I just learned she was also nominated by students and selected to be entered into the 11th Edition of Who’s Who Among American Teachers. I’m so proud of my friend, I could just burst.

My Progressive Women’s Voices colleague Sonia Osario is up to some amazing stuff as the head of NOW-NYC. Like this event, for instance:

The Girlfriend’s Guide To Marriage
April 17th, 2008, 6:30 pm

Don’t just plan your wedding, plan your marriage. Join NOW-NYC for The Girlfriend’s Guide to Marriage, and learn the top 10 things you should know before getting married. Speak with our relationship and legal experts, and tackle questions on every bride’s mind. His name or yours? Is it better to combine banking accounts or keep them separate? The first year of marriage can be the most difficult, but we can help you make a smooth transition. Featuring attorney, Sherri Donovan, matrimonial and family law expert.

Event will be held at NOW-NYC office | 150 West 28th Street (btw. 6th & 7th) | RSVP (212) 627-9895 | $7 donation for non-members.

All so very topical, of course, for this girl with a pen who is getting married this summer. And keeping her name. Or maybe hyphenating. But definitely not giving it up. My name, that is.