Adrienne Rich and some thoughts
Feminism.
I've noticed that whenever that word is spoken, people have an instant reaction. There isn't a whole lot of thoughtful consideration -- either they can identify or they can't. It's just something I've been thinking about while preparing for my Adrienne Rich presentation in my Context, Style, and Audience class. It's got to be a long one, about ten to fifteen minutes. normally that would have be petrified. But I'm not really worried. You see, I've been reading Rich now for two weeks.
I had no idea that she wrote essays. Yeah, how could I claim to have been a feminist but never have read Rich's essays on compulsory heterosexuality and lesbianism as a political stance? I have no clue. i took feminist philosophy classes. I took lots of poetry classes. Literature classes. Somehow Adrienne Rich the poet stayed in the realm of poetry. I don't recall reading any of her essays, not even "Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying". Well I just read that essay last week, it was the first non-poetry piece I'd ever read by Rich.
If you haven't read it, then get thee to a library. It's in her essay collection On Lies, Secrets, and Silence. I have no idea how I've managed to miss her, but I'm thoroughly hooked now.
In other news...
We made it to CC's apartment fine -- lenaf007 and I can navigate when we work together. No one was there, of course, and we had to find our way back from whence we came in search of Olive Garden. It was an interesting dinner. Aunt Kathy had dyed her hair a bright honey blonde. Nothing like the thick black straight hair she used to have, she cut it into a bob. A fashionable bob, naturally, but it still threw me. And she has reading glasses hanging on a chain around her neck now. It feels like it's been ages since I've seen her and I fangirled on her so bad when I was younger.
We're going to head up to see them in about an hour or so. Grandma is off most of the heavy pain meds now, which is good. She's being kept drugged so she won't wake up because if she wakes she'll be in a great deal of pain. My aunts and dad react to their mother being in the hospital very differently. None of them are panicky types (when Mom goes to visit Saturday it could be all melodrama and hysterics) so things were very calm and orderly. Dad took great deal to explain evey little detail, like a museum curator. CC had to stay seated in the far end of the room because, like me, the tubes and needles make her faint. lenaf007 sat with her for a while so it was fine. Aunt Kathy was curious about eveything, and so optimistic. I love that about her.
Anyway, so that was the day. Grandma is still in Intensive Care. Today bakasaru_chan is coming up with us so hopefully things will stay smooth. It's been unseasonably cold so we brought a few clothes for Kathy to wear while she's here. She flew in from South Africa yesterday, after all, and wasn't expecting quite so much of a cold snap.
Yesterday while waiting at GaTech, lenaf007 and I found a miniature petting zoo had been set up on campus. It was wacky, but so cute! There was a camel, and an Indian Cow, and a baby kangaroo hiding in an oversized purse from the wind, and a lemur, and a giant turkey among other things. I only had the camera phone, but I snapped what pictures I could. Will post them up when i remember to email them to myself =P
In megalomaniac news, lenaf007 convinced me to bring two copies of my publication in the Agnes Scott journal for CC and Kathy. And I'm sure they'll want to read it. And it's uber depressing and touches on the eviction, which is a touchy subject that i don't know how to broach. My family has a habit of talking around everything and hinting but not discussing. I'm comfortable when issues are kept silent. I'm hoping I won't cause a stir. I mean, it's fiction, but not fiction.
I've noticed that whenever that word is spoken, people have an instant reaction. There isn't a whole lot of thoughtful consideration -- either they can identify or they can't. It's just something I've been thinking about while preparing for my Adrienne Rich presentation in my Context, Style, and Audience class. It's got to be a long one, about ten to fifteen minutes. normally that would have be petrified. But I'm not really worried. You see, I've been reading Rich now for two weeks.
I had no idea that she wrote essays. Yeah, how could I claim to have been a feminist but never have read Rich's essays on compulsory heterosexuality and lesbianism as a political stance? I have no clue. i took feminist philosophy classes. I took lots of poetry classes. Literature classes. Somehow Adrienne Rich the poet stayed in the realm of poetry. I don't recall reading any of her essays, not even "Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying". Well I just read that essay last week, it was the first non-poetry piece I'd ever read by Rich.
If you haven't read it, then get thee to a library. It's in her essay collection On Lies, Secrets, and Silence. I have no idea how I've managed to miss her, but I'm thoroughly hooked now.
In other news...
We made it to CC's apartment fine -- lenaf007 and I can navigate when we work together. No one was there, of course, and we had to find our way back from whence we came in search of Olive Garden. It was an interesting dinner. Aunt Kathy had dyed her hair a bright honey blonde. Nothing like the thick black straight hair she used to have, she cut it into a bob. A fashionable bob, naturally, but it still threw me. And she has reading glasses hanging on a chain around her neck now. It feels like it's been ages since I've seen her and I fangirled on her so bad when I was younger.
We're going to head up to see them in about an hour or so. Grandma is off most of the heavy pain meds now, which is good. She's being kept drugged so she won't wake up because if she wakes she'll be in a great deal of pain. My aunts and dad react to their mother being in the hospital very differently. None of them are panicky types (when Mom goes to visit Saturday it could be all melodrama and hysterics) so things were very calm and orderly. Dad took great deal to explain evey little detail, like a museum curator. CC had to stay seated in the far end of the room because, like me, the tubes and needles make her faint. lenaf007 sat with her for a while so it was fine. Aunt Kathy was curious about eveything, and so optimistic. I love that about her.
Anyway, so that was the day. Grandma is still in Intensive Care. Today bakasaru_chan is coming up with us so hopefully things will stay smooth. It's been unseasonably cold so we brought a few clothes for Kathy to wear while she's here. She flew in from South Africa yesterday, after all, and wasn't expecting quite so much of a cold snap.
Yesterday while waiting at GaTech, lenaf007 and I found a miniature petting zoo had been set up on campus. It was wacky, but so cute! There was a camel, and an Indian Cow, and a baby kangaroo hiding in an oversized purse from the wind, and a lemur, and a giant turkey among other things. I only had the camera phone, but I snapped what pictures I could. Will post them up when i remember to email them to myself =P
In megalomaniac news, lenaf007 convinced me to bring two copies of my publication in the Agnes Scott journal for CC and Kathy. And I'm sure they'll want to read it. And it's uber depressing and touches on the eviction, which is a touchy subject that i don't know how to broach. My family has a habit of talking around everything and hinting but not discussing. I'm comfortable when issues are kept silent. I'm hoping I won't cause a stir. I mean, it's fiction, but not fiction.