For She Is the Tree of Life: Grandmothers Through the Eyes of Women Writers - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1573240052 ISBN 13: 9781573240055

Publisher: Conari Pr, 1995

Synopsis

An anthology of fictional and autobiographical writings about women's relationships to their grandmothers includes authors as diverse as Maya Angelou, Isabelle Allende, Sharon Olds, and M. F. K. Fisher and explores the distinct roles grandmothers played in their lives. IP.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

This engaging collection of short pieces of autobiography, fiction and poetry, some published previously, deals with the grandmother-granddaughter relationship. According to Kack-Brice, a California clinical social worker, memories of grandmothers, whether positive or negative, are a powerful connection to childhood, and the exploration of these reminiscences can lead to deeper self-knowledge. Many of the selections, including the poetry of Marge Piercy and Linda Hogan and memoirs by Ethel Barrymore and Maya Angelou, evoke grandmothers as figures of strength and inspiration. Other contributors, such as M.F.K. Fisher and Stephanie Patterson, describe more troubled relationships with their grandmothers. A touching selection by Jewelle Gomez recalls how her grandmother accepted her lesbianism. Exercises for the reader who wants to write about her own grandmother are provided by the contributors. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

This is a collection of tender yet often tough and sharp poems and stories about grandmothers. The prose includes excerpts from novels (e.g., from Margaret Atwood's Bodily Harm and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) as well as a goodly selection of narrative memoirs. The poetry is accessible and direct, ranging from Toi Derricote's piercing reminiscence of her light-skinned grandmother's vulnerability to racism to Sharon Olds' searching eulogy for her dead grandmother on what would have been her birthday. This could have been a sappy assemblage of greeting-card sentiments, but editor Kack-Brice has done her work well. The love expressed by the writers here is unwavering, yet it is love based on clear-sighted knowledge. Patricia Monaghan

About this edition

• Publisher: Conari Pr
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1573240052
• ISBN 13: 9781573240055
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 197
• Editor: Kack-Brice Valerie